Protection and Betrayal
by DelaneyDay
Summary: It's been weeks since Tyler fled Mystic Falls in fear of Klaus' wrath. Caroline missed him terribly, and when a rushed phone call makes her fearful that Klaus will find Tyler sooner rather than later, she must once again be the blonde distraction . . . on a whole new scale. Klaroline. Rated M for future chapters. Set after 4X15.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey y'all! This is my first fan fiction. I appreciate any comments you may have. I'm still learning how to do this, so please feel free to give honest notes.**

**I think it's going to take me a while to get back in the swing of writing, so please forgive any pacing issues. **

**This fanfiction is set after the events in 4X15. Some topics have been set aside for this storyline.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or its characters.**

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"Caroline, he's on the run. What did you think would happen? Did you think he would go on the lam and you two could still continue on with an exciting, secret romance? Every now and then you two would sneak off for little trysts, and it would be all cupcakes and unicorns?"

"No, _Stefan_, I didn't think that. But just because he's gone to run for his life from Klaus doesn't mean we're over. It's not like I magically stopped loving him the moment he left," Caroline huffed throwing her hands out in an emphatic gesture. "It's not like I magically stopped caring."

Stefan, surprisingly, was her closest friend right now, so when she had another disappointing conversation with Tyler's voicemail that afternoon, she had no one else to turn to. Sure, she had her best friends Bonnie and Elena, but lately it felt like they were BFF's in name only. Bonnie had been nothing but bitter apples lately and Elena . . . well Elena wasn't exactly in a fit state for girl's night and shopping excursions.

Caroline had already taken a moment to giggle at the idea of Stefan as her new BFF. Visions of him in a matching rubber ducky pajama set enjoying a rom/com with her on a Saturday night fighting the urge to talk about boys while he tried out a new vintage hairstyle was a hard image to not chuckle over. Alas, she had to settle for the brooding forehead and the sensitive yet tough love he had to offer.

"Well, maybe there's the rub. You left things open, Caroline. You can't blame him for not adhering to the rules. Because-"

"-we didn't make any." Caroline said to herself. She let out a frustrated groan and swept her curls back running both hands through her hair. "I know what you want to say, Stefan, so, please, just say it," Caroline's shoulders sagged as she exhaled readying herself.

Looking at Stefan she could tell that he wanted to say something to her, but he questioned whether it was something she wanted to hear. His eyebrows pulled together as he leaned forward on the sofa with a comforting look. "It's been weeks, Caroline. How long will you wait for him? How long will you keep hope that the next time your phone rings, it's him? Even before when he left to break the sire bond he called to check in. What's different? I know I'm not exactly the poster boy for knowing when to call it quits, but have you considered the possibility that he isn't contacting you for a reason? Maybe he's making a clean break."

"I refuse to believe that. If he could contact me, he would. Seriously, he's on the run for his life-I'm not here asking for you to fix this-I'm merely pointing out that this is a shitty situation- and I need you to just sit here and listen and tell me that he's a dick for not calling and that I shouldn't worry-That it will all work out in the end." Caroline took a deep breath having said her piece in one long, drawn out stream of words.

Stefan gave a little smile and looked down to shake his head at his friend. He knew that she had understood his point. "He's a dick for not calling. Don't worry, it'll all work out in the end."

"Well that just sounded forced." She pouted putting her face in her hands.

Stefan laughed. "Maybe he's just waiting for Klaus to leave Mystic Falls before he attempts to contact you."

"Yeah, what's with that? Klaus vows to chase him to the ends of the earth, but then decides to take his sweet time packing? Don't get me wrong. I'm glad that where ever Tyler is, he is far from Klaus. Believe me, I'm glad. But still. The whole point of Tyler leaving was that Klaus was on the warpath to kill him. Klaus doesn't seem to be too warpath-y to me."

"I've been wondering that myself. Klaus never does anything without a reason."

* * *

"Really, Nik, it's as if you don't even care that our brother is dead. Do you truly care about any of us?" Rebekah lashed at her brother, feeling her eyes begin to water.

"Careful, Sister. You forget that I have taken great pains to protect you all over these many years. And while Kol was an egotistical prat, he was my brother. I'll have you remember that you are not the only one to have lost family. I kept him safe all his life. I feel his loss just as you do." Klaus stood from his chair and walked to the dry bar to pour himself a drink.

"Safe in a box, you mean."

Klaus let his head fall back in exasperation. "Go ahead. Dig in. Have at it. Kol's death is my fault. I didn't get there in time. It was my doppelganger. Do it, Rebekah. Tell me I don't feel what has happened," Klaus spat pointedly as he strode to his sister. His voice was the smooth, calculated tone he wore when he was warning someone of dangerous water, "I dare you."

Rebekah back pedaled in her approach. Her anger was reaching for an excuse, any excuse. "You aren't even chasing the Lockwood boy. After the insult he-"

"-Hardly. I have Tyler exactly where I want him. Out of Mystic Falls."

"This doesn't come down to that flitwit Caroline?! Our brother is dead, and you won't avenge him because of some shallow tart with too much snark," Rebekah shouted, her voice becoming more shrill.

"Mind your tongue," Klaus said the venom dripping from his words. "Tyler did not kill Kol, Rebekah. That would be Elena and her belated brother, and I'm working on that. So, don't pretend that I'm sitting idly by. Lockwood is gone." Klaus meandered back to the armchair and settled down with his newly refilled drink. "Chasing him would simply be a waste of my time."

Rebekah squared her shoulders. Her brother was dead. Klaus may be able to calmly manage his need for vengeance, but she was struggling. What with Silas' whereabouts unknown, she needed a cause to rally behind. "You say you have plans. Tell me."

Klaus smirked and twirled his glass a bit looking at her only from the corner of his eye. "Wouldn't you like to know."

Rebekah huffed out a breath. "You're cutting me out. Again." It wasn't a question.

Klaus laughed quietly at his youngest sibling. "Hardly. Pack a bag. We're on a plane tomorrow."

Taken aback, Rebekah's brows knitted in confusion. "Where to?"

"London, Baby Sister. It's time we fetch Elijah."

* * *

Walking to her car Caroline felt the first few drops of rain fall. Mystic Falls was expecting one hell of a rainstorm. She just hoped her mother wouldn't be working during the worst of it tonight. Caroline wasn't scared of storms but preferred to not think about the horror movie possibilities of a young girl alone in a big house while thunder rang and lightening flashed in the windows. It was creepy. 'Maybe Stefan will be free,' she thought. When her mind flashed once again to Stefan in rubber ducky pajamas, she breathed out a laugh of defeat. 'Like that's gonna happen. He'll probably be busy reigning in Elena with Damon.'

The rain picked up considerably as Caroline unlocked her car practically leaping in in an attempt to save her hair from potential disaster. Though it was still early evening and the sky was white with clouds, the inside of the car was dim and the water blocked windows brought a feeling of isolation. Caroline sat there a moment thinking of how different her life had become. Not long ago she was the epitome of a social butterfly in Mystic Falls. Now, with her friends missing in action and Tyler gone, she couldn't help but feel as if the loneliness of the car was oddly suited. 'Maybe I'll turn on my wipers and there will still be nothing to see,' she thought pathetically. Just then she felt as if the walls of the car were a jail cell. No, not the car. Mystic Falls. She was stuck in a place that had nothing to offer her by her loyalty to people who didn't even really care about her anymore. She was second priority to everything else that was going on. Big surprise.

"What the hell?!" She jumped as her passenger door opened and someone climbed into her car dripping with rainwater.

"Hello, Caroline."

Caroline could scream. Out of fear or anger, she wasn't sure. "Get out of my car, Klaus!"

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**Thank you so much for reading! I hope you'll keep up with it. =)**

**In case you are confused. I have been using quotation marks (") for what is actually said and apostrophes (') for thoughts the characters are having. I figured this was pretty standard but wanted to clarify, just in case.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much to those who are following and those who reviewed! (Nice catch noticing that Stefan and Rebekah's names were spelled wrong. I had TOTALLY missed that. So thanks!)**

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"Get out of my car, Klaus. Better yet, I'm about to leave, get under it!" She yelled at the hybrid that sat next to her with a mock-hurt expression on his face.

"Sweetheart, you aren't still mad about that whole wolf bite business? I did save you in the end, didn't I?" Klaus turned in the seat facing her blinking water from his eyelashes and quirking his mouth in a smile. The rain had turned to a full downpour, and Klaus was the soggy mess to prove it. Drops of water fell from his dirty blonde curls and curved their way down his face and neck.

"No, Klaus. I'm mad about the whole you-want-to-kill-my-boyfriend-and-so-he's-left-me-to-run-for-his-_life_ business. Not to mention previously discussed atrocities!" Caroline's fingers dug into her steering wheel, and she stared straight ahead hoping to avoid eye contact with the man she would very much like to see in a ditch somewhere.

"Don't be like that, Love." Klaus crooned playing up his dimples. Caroline let out a frustrated sigh. She could only glimpse his smile in her peripheral, but it was enough to spark a mental image of the smiles he had shared with her at the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant. 'Gah! Bad Caroline!'

"Get out of my car, Klaus!" Caroline yelled. She turned to him, her eyes shining with annoyance and a few sizes larger than normal. 'Is he serious?! Leave me alone! He can't possibly think the charm is going to get him anywhere! He breaks what little faith I had in him by not letting Tyler go and now he thinks I'll melt like butter for a smile. Hell no!'

Klaus said nothing. Looking at her he leaned into the passenger seat as if he was getting comfortable for the long haul.

Caroline could just strangle him. She sat there looking incredulously at him. She was half tempted to lean over, open his door, and literally kick him out the door with her three and a half inch boot heals. 'I could roll down the window and scream rape . . . ' Caroline seriously considered.

"I want you to leave Mystic Falls with me," Klaus piped in disrupting Caroline's thought process. Hearing this, she bursted into a loud, obnoxious fit of laughter; the guffaws shook her and made her eyes water. He was thrown by her outburst and more than a little irritated. He made a show of waiting for her to stop.

She was able to muffle her laughs to shoot Klaus a pitying look. "Oh wow. Please go drown in a puddle." She couldn't handle him right now. She pulled on the door handle and braved the wet outside. She didn't really know where she was going. She only knew she needed to get away from him.

Klaus watched her leave the car. She was beautiful. Even as she threw insults at him, he hadn't missed the glow in her eyes and how she puffed up her chest like a tiny bird trying to appear bigger. He had to get rid of Lockwood if there was going to be any hope for him and Caroline. He would not apologize for sending him away.

Sighing at the thought of going after her in the rain, Klaus reached for the door handle. He stopped when he noticed a flicker of multicolored light glinting off of his hand. He traced the light to a small crystal dangling from Caroline's rear view mirror. Smiling to himself he reached up to inspect it a bit more. 'Of course it's a horse,' Klaus thought as he turned the sparkling form of a running mustang in his hand. Memories of the night of his mother's ball played through his mind. She had looked so unreal, so enchanting as she stood watching the horse outside his home. He remembered the way her eyes had changed when he had said that he fancied her. As if his words were so far from what she had expected him to say. He pulled himself out of the car as he hurried to catch up with Caroline.

Caroline had instantly regretted her decision to leave the car. The rain came down in sheets, and she was soaked from her white military jacket to her dark skinny jeans. Ten seconds in the rain and the wet denim already felt restricting. She huffed and whined a little when she heard his approach. Caroline glanced around quickly looking for an exit strategy, but seeing as she had walked herself in the opposite direction of The Grill, she currently found herself entering the small park that separated the central town from the residential part of Mystic Falls. "Shit," she breathed.

His voice sounded from a few feet behind her, "I'm going to London. Come with me."

"You really can't take a hint, can you?" Caroline quickened her pace.

"Come on, Caroline." Klaus sped in front of her grabbing her hand and pulling her under the branches of a nearby Butternut tree. It was going to be hard enough to convince Caroline to come with him, let alone trying to persuade her when he could barely see her through the rain. "Let's not forget that I am not the only one guilty of an atrocity or two. I'm going to London for a few days. Come with me." Klaus still held Caroline's hand. She pulled it from his soft hold and crossed her arms across her chest. Klaus felt the tug away from him deep in his chest. "Get to know me," he tried in a last ditch effort stepping closer to her.

The familiar words rang in her ears. Caroline wanted to spit out that they had already tried that but stopped herself when she realized she would just be shooting herself in the foot. She had only sat on that bench to distract him. Hardly a fair shake.

"I don't get it. Why would I want to go to London with you?" Caroline flung out her arms to either side. "Please, Klaus. Explain it to me. Why would I want to go anywhere with you?" Caroline felt like a drenched rat. All she wanted was to go home, get into sweat pants, watch Gone With the Wind for the thousandth time, and eat a ridiculous amount of leftover spaghetti and a bag of B+. She was already tired of this game. She just wanted to go home and be properly depressed.

Klaus could see her energy waning. "You will love London, Caroline."

Caroline line breathed out a long sigh. "Next!"

He knew that spouting lofty words would not reach Caroline in her current mood. Her track record seemed to imply that pretty compliments in these situations would only grant him an eye roll. He decided he would need to take another path. "Come with me to London, Love. Give me a few days, and I will hear your plea for Tyler's reprieve."

"What?" Caroline's eyes narrowed in suspicion, but her question came out softer than she would have liked. 'Tyler's reprieve?'

"I will listen." Klaus granted these words to her as if he was handing her a lavish gift.

"You'll listen?" Caroline's face and body was still. Klaus' smile which was nothing more than a flirty smirk widened. He had her.

Or not . . .

"Oh good! Cuz I would hate to travel all the way to London to be ignored! Seriously! You'll 'listen'?!" Caroline's fingers flew up in quotation marks. "You aren't promising me anything, Klaus. You think I'm naïve. I see you. You think you can manipulate me with empty promises! Did you really think that would be the best way to convince me! Who do you think I am?! Could you insult my intelligence more?" She could not believe him. Out of all the things he could have said. She didn't understand how a man of his age and experience could be so clueless. Listening is easy. Did he think she would be dumb enough to assume he was promising to let Tyler off the hook?

Caroline walked closer to Klaus stopping only inches from him, her chin lifting as her blue eyes locked with his. The sounds of thick rain drops making their way through the tree's leaves was a steady white noise. Her voice was softer now as if explaining something very carefully, "You can't see it, can you? You look at the road less traveled in the woods. You know deep down that's the road you want to take," Caroline gestured to a non-existent road. "But you don't take it," Caroline shook her head exasperated. "You call in your minions to _level_ the trees and you _stomp_ on the grass. Eventually you are going to run out of roads to overlook and woods to destroy."

Klaus looked everywhere but Caroline. He had no desire to see the incredulity and disappointment in her eyes. 'What did he care if she was disappointed?' He felt the anger and indignity prickling at his mind as if inviting him to indulge. Klaus just stood there with a clinched jaw and a tense stance. Sensing that he was done talking, Caroline walked back toward her car. "Goodbye, Klaus. I hope you find what you are looking for in London."

Taking a breath, Klaus followed Caroline with his eyes. They burned with a horrible mixture of anger towards Caroline and shame. He shook with the hatred he had for the pain in his chest. He was done humiliating himself. He was Niklaus Mikaelson. The Original Hybrid. He was done pining for the affections of a girl like a lonely school boy.

* * *

Caroline was just settling in on the couch with her bowl of pasta and a pillow when she realized she had left her phone in her bathroom. "Noooo." She moaned out. 'Whatever. I don't care. If anyone wants to reach me they can come get me. No one is going to call anyway.' Caroline sighed sleepily as she chewed an oversized bite of pasta watching the title for Gone With the Wind shine across the television. It took her a few moments to think about it before she choked on her bite. 'Tyler could call!'

Since the day Tyler had left, Caroline had always had one ear out for her phone. Never letting it out of her sight and never for one second believing that he wasn't about to call. Her conversation with Klaus had thrown her off and distracted her.

"Oh my god," She blew out. Klaus had distracted her from Tyler. In a fit of guilt, Caroline jumped up from the couch and sped to her bathroom for her phone. Turning on the screen she muttered, "Of course." No missed calls. She dropped her hands to her sides and trudged back to the livingroom with her phone. She was just reaching for the couch throw when she felt the familiar buzz of her phone and the jazzy opening to "All the Same to Me" by Anya Marina.

Caroline's heart jumped into her throat. She looked down at her flashing screen. _Restricted Caller_.

Taking a deep breath, Caroline moved a shaky finger over the answer button. Quickly she pulled the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Caroline?"

She couldn't breathe. The phone was crackling and the voice was jumpy, but she would know that voice anywhere. "Tyler?"

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**I'll update soon! I hope you are enjoying so far. Review if you have any notes for me!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Thank you to everyone who is following and has favorited and reviewed. Seeing as this is my first fanfic, I really didn't know what to expect. You all are awesome!**

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"Tyler?! Oh my god, are you all right?" Caroline plopped down on the couch searching the room as if she would find him if she looked hard enough.

"Carol . . . I . . .an't talk long . . . ant you . . . know that . . . okay." His voice was breaking up with the bad connection.

"Tyler, Tyler, wait. I can't understand you. It's a bad connection. Where are you?" Though Tyler's voice didn't seem panicked, the simple fact that the phone wasn't working made her feel as if something was wrong.

" . . . land. I found her, Car . . ine. I can fix all of it."

"Fix what? What are you talking about?"

" . . .ine. I found her," Tyler said louder as if increasing his volume would help.

"Who?"

"Care, I found Katherine."

"What?!" Caroline shrieked. "Are you crazy? Katherine will kill you? What-"

"- No. I'm with . . . ine. She wan . . . elp. She's going . . . help kill Klaus. Sh . . . cure."

Caroline eyes grew wide. "What? No, Tyler, you are supposed to be running from Klaus, not attacking him. He'll kill you!"

"It's the only way. Caroline . . . to go."

"Wait! No, Tyler, don't do anything. Don't go anywhere near Katherine. Where are you?"

" . . .oline. I have . . . go. Sorry . . . love you."

"No! Tyler, where are you?!"

" . . . land," Tyler said rushed. Caroline could tell that someone was telling him to get off the phone. She could vaguely hear a woman's voice. She concentrated on it with her enhanced hearing.

"Now Tyler!" The woman's voice said. Caroline nearly cried. That sounded like Elena. Which meant Tyler was with Katherine. She was standing right next to him.

Caroline collected her voice quickly, "Where are you, Tyler?"

". . .land."

"Where?"

"England! I'm in London, England! I'm sorry, Care. I-"

Caroline heard the dial tone. Her breath was shaky as she pulled some air into her lungs.

"London."

* * *

Caroline drove like a bat out of hell. She didn't know how she was going to pull this off, but she had to keep Klaus as far away from Tyler as possible. She had tried to call Tyler back with no success. She was able to use "*69" to return the call but was met with a message saying that the phone had been disconnected.

She screeched to a halt in the mansion's driveway. Throwing the car into park she jumped out and scurried to the front door. Before her knuckles came down on the door, she took a minute to chastise herself for not dressing a little better. She was going to need all the help she could get and the blue track suit she had been wearing when she received the call from Tyler wasn't exactly her most persuasive outfit. She pulled her hands up to tighten her ponytail and pulled at the strands that flew around her head tugging them against her face hoping that she was making it look less messy and more wispy. She knocked.

'Crap. What do I say? God, it's late.' Caroline fidgeted as her mind struggled for words. It had only been four hours since she left him in the park, but it was dark now. It wasn't exactly the usual time to be getting unannounced company.

The sound of footsteps could be heard from the other side of the door. The soft padding of someone with bare feet. For a moment Caroline panicked at the idea that Klaus was going to answer the door in a state of undress, but when the door opened she was both relieved and disappointed.

"What do you want then?" Rebekah said apathetically. Caroline was thrown off by the fact that Rebekah stood at the door wearing nothing but a pink satin night gown. One section of her hair stood up as if she had been laying on it.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize you would already be in bed. I-" Caroline hesitated, "I need to speak with Klaus." She didn't realize Rebekah was living at the mansion again either, but she didn't mention it.

Rebekah looked Caroline up and down. "Yes. Well. Early flight tomorrow. Come in."

Caroline awkwardly shuffled into the room worrying her hands together.

"He's in his studio," Rebekah said lazily."I'll show you where it is." She began to walk toward the back of the house.

"That's all right. I know where it is." Caroline chirped in.

Rebekah stopped and turned to look at her. "Of course you do," she breathed. Without another word Rebekah turned herself toward the staircase and went up to bed leaving Caroline in the foyer to find her own way.

Caroline took a deep breath. 'I can do this.'

She remembered the way to the room well enough. Though she didn't know why, she moved quietly through the house. She felt as if she was approaching a wild animal and she didn't want to startle it. As she came upon the door she realized that it was ajar, and she could hear the soft music of a piano but didn't recognize the song. She knew she shouldn't spy, but there was a part of her that was curious to see Klaus the Artist at work. Caroline's breathing slowed to almost nothing as she peeked around the door.

There he was. Klaus sat at the drawing table in a state of frustration. At least that's what Caroline assumed. Judging from the creases between his brow, the half chewed chalk pencil, the black smudge on his cheek, and the fact that his hair was sticking straight up as if hands had run through it one too many times, Klaus wasn't succeeding in drawing what he intended. Either that, or he wasn't succeeding in doing it well.

Caroline was surprised. She had never seen Klaus look so . . . unguarded. She smiled to herself when she noticed the crumpled up balls of paper scattered around the table. 'How many times has he tried to draw this?' She thought. Caroline's eyes drifted back to Klaus. 'He looks so tired.' With a sigh Klaus closed his eyes and dropped his pencil onto the table. Then, in a moment so casual Caroline could hardly believe him capable of it, Klaus dropped his head down onto the tabletop. Caroline suppressed a giggle. She almost felt bad for him. He looked exhausted.

Deciding she was being a voyer, Caroline backed up to behind the threshold of the door. Clearing her throat to announce herself she knocked softly on the door.

"What are you doing up, Baby Sister?" Klaus said as his head shot up from his resting position, and he began shuffling through the mess in front of him as if he had been doing it the whole time. Seeing as his eyes were on the table, he did not notice that the woman in front of him was not Rebekah. "Everything will be better when we see Elijah, Dearest."

Caroline's eyebrows shot up in surprise. 'Klaus thinks I'm Rebekah. Baby Sister? Dearest?' It took Caroline the smallest of moments to realize that Klaus thought he was comforting his sister. 'Was Rebekah upset? I guess her brother did just die . . .' Caroline couldn't help but be touched that he was acting as the caring older brother.

"It's me," she said gently.

Klaus' head shot up once more. His eyes were large with shock. "Caroline. I . . . " Klaus cleared his throat, "I thought you were Rebekah." He rapidly ran his hand through his hair, and Caroline could see his usual poise return as he stood from his desk.

"Am I disturbing you?"

"Not at all, Love. Though I will admit that I'm a bit confused. I think you made yourself quite clear this evening." Klaus tried to insert as much irritation into his voice as possible, but it was proving difficult. He was still angry with her, but the shock of seeing her in his studio in such an abnormal state of dress was sending his thoughts off on a different tangent.

Klaus couldn't believe how naturally stunning she was. Her body was flawless. The unforgiving track suit she wore only showcased how little forgiveness she needed her clothes to give, and with her hair up and out of her face, he could admire the length of her neck. It was rare that anyone saw Caroline without her daily application of foundation and eyeliner, but the lack of make-up she wore tonight only made her eyes shine brighter and truer. Even the messy way her hair was tied up made Klaus want to touch her.

"What are you drawing?"

"What?" Klaus shook his head a bit trying to re-engage himself in what was happening.

"You were drawing weren't you? Judging from all this paper," Caroline smiled a bit motioning to the floor. 'What is wrong with me? Who cares? Do what you came here to do, Caroline. You hate Klaus. Stop acting like this is a different man than before!' Caroline tucked her smile away. "I'm sorry, nevermind."

"No, please. If you are curious." Klaus waved her toward the desk. He watched her very carefully. 'What is she up to?' Her behavior was so different from earlier. Something has changed. He knew it. He knew to be on guard. 'Fool me once . . . well, more like a thousand times.'

Caroline knew that she shouldn't care, but seeing Klaus all flustered earlier did peak her interest. She walked slowly toward him. She noticed him watching her like he was waiting for her to do something suddenly, so she kept her eyes on the table. As she swung around the side of table she saw that in his rush to pretend to be occupied earlier he had covered up his work. He had invited her to look, so she cautiously began to push papers around. It was when she was pushing aside a scribbled paper and colored chalk that she uncovered the mysterious drawing that had been giving him so much trouble. Unintentionally, but quietly she gasped.

"It's beautiful." Before her lay an elegant drawing of a small yellow bird. The bird sat on what looked like a branch of a Butternut tree while light came through the leaves and onto the bird. The bird's chest feathers were a soft white and on either side of the bird's eyes was a streak of blue. The bird was all puffed up, its feathers separating to make the bird look squat and chubby. "What sort of bird is it?" She asked peering up at Klaus.

Klaus stared back at her unflinching. His voice barely over a whisper, "I don't know yet." Caroline held his gaze and then awkwardly dropped his drawing and backed away.

"I'm here to speak with you about your offer this evening," Caroline began.

"Oh?" Klaus' eyes narrowed.

Caroline took a deep breath. 'Now is the time, Caroline,' she thought in an attempt to gain courage. "I want you to listen. I want the opportunity to persuade you to give Tyler a break. We should talk, but I'm not ready for an international conversation. Stay. Stay in Mystic Falls. Go to London next week or next month. Stay . . . with me . . . and listen. I'm a good talker. I can talk for a very long time."

"Oh, I have no doubt, Sweetheart, but the deal is that I will listen if you come to London, and-"

"-Stay with me this week and . . . " Caroline felt like she was drowning. What could she offer Klaus that he wanted. "And I'll stay with you."

Klaus' left eyebrow lifted quizzically. "You'll stay with me?"

Caroline's breath froze. 'What did I just say? Oh god!' Gulping, she shook herself, and pulling her shoulders back she stood up straight. If there was anything Caroline knew how to do, it was to stand confident when the pressure was on. 'Thank you, Ballroom Class.' She was going to see this through. "Yes. This isn't a 3 hour date I'm offering. This is a week." Caroline really hoped a week was enough time for Katherine and Tyler to get what they needed and get the hell out of Britain.

Klaus now knew that something was definitely off. Earlier Caroline told him to go "drown in a puddle", so what had shifted. "Why the change of heart?"

'Shit. Think, Caroline. Think.' She had to think of something believable. "Tyler left because you decided you wanted him gone. If he's going to get his life back, I'm going to have to set aside my pride and make it happen for him."

Klaus stood silent for a moment. He was very curious to see this play out, but she was too late. Not only was he needed in London, but Rebekah needed to see Elijah. Him, Rebecca, and Elijah were stronger together than they ever would be apart. She needed her brothers. While Klaus would love to pretend that he cared little for her sensibilities, there was a part of him that would always see the ten year old with braids that followed him everywhere and tucked into his bed at night when she had nightmares. And, though he would never admit it, Kol's death and the circumstances following it had hit him hard. No, he could not call off the trip to London.

"Sorry, Love. As much as I would love to accept your counter offer, I must decline. The circumstances that take me to London are quite fixed. We leave in the morning." Klaus looked down, picked up a small remote, clicked a button which promptly shut off the music, and started walking to the door. As he passed Caroline, he stopped and looked over and down at her. Her eyes were quite desperate. "I hope you will extend me this offer upon my return," Klaus said in a deep somewhat sleepy voice before he left the room.

Caroline didn't know what to do. She couldn't let him go to London. Tyler was in London. But Klaus was going. He said it was fixed. She felt her eyes start to prickle with water. She couldn't let this happen. She couldn't let Klaus just stumble on to Tyler. Caroline knew she had to do something. There was no way to warn Tyler. She had to do something. Just then, it hit her. Caroline looked up, her eyes shining but no longer tearful. 'Got it.'

Caroline sped after Klaus catching up to him as he climbed the spiraling master staircase in the foyer. She grabbed a hold of his hand stopping his climb. Startled he looked down at where her hand grasped his. He took a moment to enjoy the softness of her hand. "Sweetheart, I really am quite tired." Klaus' eyes rose from their hands to meet hers. Her eyes blazed with sureness and determination.

"All right, Klaus. I'll go with you to London."

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	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed! **

**This is a little bit of a filler chapter, but not to worry, they won't all be this uneventful. ;)**

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Caroline stepped through the door of Klaus' London flat, and her eyes nearly left her head. She had seen nice houses, but the inside of this place was gorgeous.

Klaus set their bags down near the stairwell, "What do you think, Caroline?" He could tell that she was taking in every inch of her surroundings. He reached over her shoulders to take her coat.

The walls of the entryway were a dark, navy blue accented by crisp white trim and furniture. The small armchairs that sided what looked like an antique console table had exaggerated curves and patterned blue pillows. The stairwell off to their right was the same wood floor that fell beneath their feet with the same bright white, elegantly twisted railing. When Klaus took her blazer from her shoulders, Caroline followed him with her eyes to a large armoire off to the left of the door. Her eyes then jumped marveling at the detail of the wall surrounding the door. Old, multi-colored bricks made up the entirety of the wall at the front of the house. It was a glorious mosaic of blue, beige, and classic red bricks.

"Wow," was all she could say. Laughing at herself she turned to Klaus with a little smile, "Surprisingly feminine."

Klaus, too, laughed. "That's because this house is all 'Bekah's doing," Klaus praised as he turned to his sister who had been surprisingly quiet the whole trip.

Caroline had assumed she would have quite a lot to say about her joining them on their trip, but she said nothing. She guessed that either Klaus had given her a talking to, or she was just really upset about Kol. It was not like Rebekah to be tight lipped.

Rebekah gave a small smile. She was rather proud of this home. It was one of the few places their family owned that she had had full creative license with. Klaus was the artistic one in the family, and, seeing as he had impeccable taste, he was also the one to decorate most of their properties. While she did enjoy the bold, straight lines of Klaus' preferred décor, she did crave now and then for a little frill in her surroundings.

"Yes, well. Nik is still responsible for the art," Rebekah paused and looked teasingly at her brother. "Though I told him what to paint, he couldn't help but put his own spin on the pieces. Very off topic spins."

Curious, Caroline glanced to the art in the room and ventured over to the console table to get a closer look. Above it hung four identical, medium sized frames. While the paintings all held a similar color scheme, they were all very different. One was a pond in a wood. If she had to guess, she would say that it was raining over the pond. The next was a bowl sitting on a tabletop. The bowl was full of dry ingredients, but so was the table. The table was absolutely covered. It reminded Caroline of when she was a child and tried to make cookies for her dad. There was flour and sugar all over the kitchen by the time she put the "cookies" in the oven. The third painting was what Caroline could only describe to herself as impressionistic. The blues and tans of the overall color scheme were swirling in light thin lines and then interrupted by a thick slash of dark red that swung through the middle. Finally, the fourth painting was relatively straight forward. It was a close up of a little girl's shoulders and head seen from behind. The girl's pale hair hung down her back in a long, sturdy braid. "What did you tell him to make these?"

Rebekah sighed and approached the console as well, "I originally told him to paint us. The six of us. He told me that this house was mine to shape, and if anyone was going to be on the walls, it was me."

Klaus smiled to himself. She was so angry with him when he had presented her with paintings that both didn't represent her siblings and wasn't technically her either.

"These are you?" Caroline said her brows coming together investigating closer.

"Hardly," Rebekah breathed out.

"They are memories," Klaus softly inserted. Caroline briefly turned to look at him, but averted her gaze when the emotion in his eyes made her cheeks warm.

Rebekah turned back toward the staircase to grab her bag and shot Klaus a glare. "Not what I asked for." Klaus' signature smirk flicked at the side of his mouth.

Rebekah was just lifting her bag when a deep voice rang from the top of the stairs followed by descending footsteps. "Leave that, Rebekah. I will take it up."

Caroline's eyebrows shot up in surprise as the man came into view. 'He's here too?' Elijah walked down the stairs like some debonair hero in an old movie.

"Brother," Rebekah breathed from the bottom of the stairs as a sad smile washed over her face. Elijah stepped close to her putting one hand softly on her arm and one around the side of her neck. They shared a silent moment with eachother before Elijah turned to Caroline.

"Caroline, you look shocked. Did Niklaus not tell you I would be here?" Elijah walked toward her with a kindly smile.

Caroline let loose the breath she had been holding. 'Great. A week with the whole Mikaelson clan. This is a disaster.' Shaking her head lightly, Caroline let slip an awkward smile. "Um. No. He didn't."

"That wasn't very good of you, Niklaus," he said over his shoulder to Klaus.

"Must have slipped my mind," Klaus replied hanging his keys from a hook inside of the door in the armoire.

"I'm sure. Well, I'm very glad you have joined us." Caroline couldn't help but think that Elijah was a ballroom instructor's wet dream. The way he held himself, the way he presented himself, and even the way he spoke dripped of manners and poise. "Gemma says dinner should be ready at 7:30. There is time to freshen up if you'd like."

Caroline nodded gratefully, "I'd love that."

"Good," Elijah said before turning back to his sister. "Rebekah, you are in your usual room. Klaus, you are in the black room." Picking up Rebekah's bag he led her upstairs.

"Shall we?" Klaus asked with slightly raised eyebrows. He was already holding his and Caroline's bags. Caroline lifted her hands as if telling him to lead the way and walked toward the stairs after Klaus.

Caroline thought to herself, 'If he puts us in the same room, I'm staking him.'

Walking behind Klaus up the stairs was not the most unpleasant of things. His arms pulled down on either side with the weight of the bags making his back muscles ripple and push together. Not to mention that Caroline had a front row seat to see Klaus' ass LIVE. 'Stop it, Caroline! Dear lord! Stop looking at his ass! He killed Carol! And Jenna! And . . . he needs to wear looser pants.' Caroline's eyes jumped to the steps in a quick pace.

Upon reaching the platform of the second floor, Klaus took a hard left and set their bags down in front of a room at the end of the hall. Opening the door, Klaus flicked on a light and motioned for Caroline to enter. "This is your room. The white room," Klaus took a few steps into the room behind her stashing her bag next to a large dresser.

"Good name." Everything in the room was white. There were only three exceptions. One exception was the wall on the front side of the house which still sported the brickwork from downstairs. Two large windows that reached all the way to the ceiling rested there with floating window seats underneath covered in shiny white pillows. The second exception was the deep brown silhouette of a tree that sprung out from behind the bed's headboard and whos branches stretched out over the walls to either side. Caroline drifted over to take a closer look and found that it wasn't just painted, but plastered to give a raised appearance of bark. Klaus watched her explore the painted tree with her fingers and smiled to himself. The final exception was the dark hardwood floors that lay partially hidden under what Caroline could only assume was a very expensive white carpet.

The room's light drifted down from a breathtaking, yet simple, crystal chandelier. Caroline felt like a princess. Her eyes surveyed the room and came upon a door across from the bed. Upon opening the door, Caroline was graced with the image of a large clawfoot bath tub with golden pipes that shot out of the white marble floor. Even the pipes under the sink were exposed and shining like new. 'No shower. Interesting.'

Having finished her thorough examination of the room, Caroline approached Klaus. "Thanks. I'll just freshen up."

"Very well. My room is just next door if you need anything. Elijah has procured some blood bags for you. They are downstairs." Klaus lingered for just a moment to appreciate the soft glow of the light on her face before excusing himself. He had hoped to talk with her more, but he had been on surprisingly friendly terms since the night before, and he was not about to poke the bear. At least not until after dinner.

After Klaus shut the door behind him, Caroline whirled around with the biggest of smiles on her face. She ran to the bed leaping off the floor to land fully sprawled on the mattress. 'This place is amazing!' She squirmed about in the bed a little savoring the feel of the fine linens beneath her. At least if she was going to spend a week with the Adams Family she would sleep well. She giggled to herself like a crazy person laughing at some invisible joke.

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Klaus stopped to listen for noise in Caroline's room. No noise was there, not even the soft hum of breathing. 'She must be downstairs already.' Shifting his attention to the ground floor, he heard the sloshing of a glass being filled, an exuberant huff, and the signature plastic click of a blood bag being tossed into a bin. He could only guess that Elijah was pouring a drink, Caroline had just finished feeding, and Rebekah was . . . being Rebekah.

He was still at a loss as to why Caroline had come to London. She was so avid about not going, and then her display the night before was hardly her normal behavior. There was a reason Caroline was so desperate to join him. 'What does she know?' It was very unlikely that she was privy to his business there, so he couldn't help but be intrigued as to her hidden agenda for she certainly had one. Caroline was many things, but subtle was not one of them. She had hardly spoken to him during the flight over. Klaus could almost see the wheels turning in her head and the steam coming out of her ears. He left his room and began his descent down the stairs. 'I'm going to get to the bottom of this as-'

Klaus stopped dead. 'Did Rebekah just laugh?' His eyebrows came together as he quickly finished his walk to the sitting room. Upon entering, he was greeted with an odd sight. Elijah sat cross legged on one of the plush armchairs with a drink in hand and the smallest of smiles watching as his sister and Caroline walked in straight lines across the room with books on their heads. Caroline's was the first to drop.

"Ugh! No fair! I haven't had like a _billion_ years to practice," she pouted bending down to pick up the book. The skirt of her maroon day dress swirled around her as she shot back up.

"Excuses, excuses, Caroline. Just face it, not all women can walk like queens," Rebekah said smugly turning effortlessly to continue back the way she came. Caroline seemed to accept the challenge as she threw the book back atop her head and began to walk again.

Klaus watched her carefully. Again came the thought, 'What is she trying to do? What does she possibly need in London.' His thoughts shifted slightly when he observed how softly Caroline stepped, the toes of her bare feet pointing toward the next step. The length of her calf and lower thigh were exposed teasing him to no end. He couldn't stop himself from imagining his hand pulling that leg up the side of his body.

"Niklaus?"

Klaus' head shot up to Elijah. "Yes?"

Elijah leaned back in the chair, not smiling but amused. "I asked if you were ready to adjourn to the dining room. For dinner."

Klaus glared at his brother briefly having been caught daydreaming. He didn't answer. He simply walked toward the dining room. He could hear Elijah addressing his sister and Caroline, "Ladies, shall we eat?"

Caroline was famished. She had been too anxious on the flight over to really eat much and seeing as her breakfast remained untouched during Stefan's "Are you crazy?" speech that morning, she could safely say she hadn't eaten since the three bites, albeit oversized bites, of spaghetti the night before.

Walking into the dining room, she hummed in delight. Dinner smelled amazing. 'It must be nice to have a cook . . . ' Caroline had an awkward moment when it came time to sit. She couldn't quite figure out who it would be best to seat herself next to. She decided for the lesser of three evils and sat next to Elijah at the large rectangular table. Klaus, naturally, took up the head of the table. Caroline didn't miss the symbolism of Elijah being seated to Klaus' right. Rebekah sat across the table from Elijah on Klaus' left. 'Shoot me now. This is so weird.'

Dinner was started when a pretty, ginger haired woman came into the room with two plates. Klaus and Rebekah were served first and Elijah and Caroline were served on her second trip. Looking down at her plate, Caroline lips quirked up in a private smile. The smell of mushrooms and fresh rosemary filled her nose and made her mouth water. Not waiting one moment longer, Caroline picked up her silverware and dug into her food.

Silence filled the room while the first few bites were had. After wine was poured and the ginger haired woman, Gemma, left, Klaus spoke up.

"Well, now that we are here and settled, tell me, Brother, how is our resident Doppleganger?"

Caroline dropped her utensils with a loud clang and nearly choked on her food. 'What?!' She tried to ask the question out loud but couldn't speak over the coughing and sputtering.

Elijah turned to her concerned, "Are you all right, Caroline? Have some water."

She coughed again and croaked out, "fine." Cough Cough. Caroline picked up her glass of water and gulped it down until she felt the itch in her throat subside. "Thanks, I'm okay now," she assured everyone. 'Did I just hear what I thought I heard. Maybe they are talking about Elena. Wait, why would Klaus be asking Elijah about Elena?'

"Katerina is careful, but not nearly as invisible as she believes herself to be." Elijah answered nonchalantly turning back to Klaus.

"Katherine?!" Caroline blurted loudly.

"Really, Klaus, did you not inform her of anything?" Elijah chastised.

Klaus smirked and turned his attention to Caroline. "Problem, Love?"

Caroline couldn't move. 'Shit! Tyler is with Katherine.'

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**Hope this chapter wasn't too boring. I know not a lot happened. If only it was possible to just skip to the fun parts. =)**

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	5. Chapter 5

**You guys are awesome! Thank you for keeping me motivated!**

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"Problem, Love?"

Caroline was stuck. 'What do I say? I can't hint that I knew she was here in London. I can't give Klaus a reason to think I know something. Shit. Shit. Shit. Katherine . . . um . . . oh!' Caroline took a deep breath and pulled in a large mouthful of wine. Plopping down her glass, she said, "No. I'm just not her biggest fan. The woman did _kill_ me. Is that why you're here," she asked pointedly at Klaus. "Please say it's not, cuz I would honestly rather eat dirt than see her again." Caroline bit a mushroom off of her fork dramatically.

Klaus didn't hesitate. "Sorry, Love. I hate to disappoint-"

"Since when?" Rebekah mumbled into her wine glass. Elijah chuckled silently and reservedly. Klaus' head tilted in her direction annoyed.

"Are you serious? You ask me to London while you hunt down _Katherine_! God, you sure know how to show a girl a good time," Caroline scoffed. 'I wonder if they know Tyler is here?' Caroline dug back into her food anxious to hear more.

Klaus' smirk returned, "I certainly do." He turned back to Elijah. "Continue please, Brother."

"Yes, as I said last we spoke, Katerina has settled here and seems to be in regular conference with a local witch, and she doesn't seem to be traveling alone."

'Oh god! This is it.' Caroline eyes closed softly. She swallowed her food and held still in anticipation of watching the guillotine fall.

Elijah continued, "My sources report that Katerina is accompanied by a male vampire and a female werewolf. Not much is known except that they arrived together."

'A female werewolf?! What the hell?!' Caroline screamed in her head as her eyes shot open. She assumed that Elijah's source couldn't tell that Tyler was a hybrid and that Tyler was the male vampire, but there was only one female werewolf she could think of that would have her nose in Tyler's business. 'Oh, it better not be her! If Tyler is on the run with Hayley, I'm going to murder myself a wolf. Maybe two!' She was seething.

Klaus' eyes narrowed. "A wolf? That isn't like her. Have you identified her companions? The wolf?" Klaus asked.

"American for sure. My man sent photographs of the werewolf, but the vampire seems to be keeping well hidden. He doesn't join Katerina in her dealings with the witch," Elijah said surely leaning forward slightly in his chair before taking another bite.

Caroline let out the air she had kept trapped in her chest. 'Thank God. They don't know it's him. There is still time.' She was jumping back and forth between anger and panic like a bipolar sorority girl.

"Is the witch anyone we know?" Klaus inserted.

Elijah waited until he had finished his bite to answer, "June. I have had words with her already. It seems Katerina travels with the cure and is attempting to replicate it. June has assured me that she has not aided her, but seeing as Katerina has visited on the upside of five times, I don't think June has shared the whole truth with me. I have secured her discretion regarding my involvement. This, at least I know, June will not renege on."

Klaus' eyes shone with excitement. He loved a good interrogation. "Well then, if June refuses to tell us the whole story, I guess I'll have to have a chat with the old girl myself."

"I thought you would like to," Elijah nodded with a small, almost nonexistent smile.

"Is Katherine a flight risk?" Rebekah chimed in.

"Katerina is always a flight risk. But, June informs me that she intends to return for a final visit in four days time. After that, June has no indication that Katerina will stay in England." Elijah concluded, "While I'm sure her spies in Mystic falls have informed her of your leaving, I don't believe that she has been made aware of our presence in London. My sources are watching her continuously, if she gets news that we are in town and tries to flee, we will know."

Caroline couldn't help but ask, "What are you planning to do?"

While Rebekah put on a defensive face to say it was none of Caroline's concern, Elijah didn't hesitate to answer. "She has a powerful weapon in her possession. We will acquire the cure from Katerina. She spooks easily, so we must be cautious and only approach her when her guard is down."

"And if we happen to nab us a doppelganger in the end, I'm sure we will find a use for her," Klaus said slyly with a sideways glance at Elijah.

"You won't see me objecting," Elijah said with a slightly exasperated sigh.

Rebekah calmly put her utensils down and sat back in her chair with her wine glass. "I'll object. Just kill the bitch and be done with it."

"Here. Here," Caroline toasted lifting her wine glass toward Rebekah. Rebekah reciprocated.

Klaus threw on a mock-shocked expression, "You mean _murder_ Katherine, Caroline? That's _atrocious_!"

_I am not the only one guilty of an atrocity or two._ Caroline remembered his words from the day before and could see what he was doing. She smiled tightly, "No one likes a smartass, Klaus."

Klaus' smiled widely. "I'm merely drawing parallels, Sweetheart." Caroline glared at him, and he returned her gaze.

Elijah lifted an eyebrow slightly missing the hidden meaning in their words. Removing his cloth napkin from his lap, Elijah delicately wiped the corners of his mouth and also sat back in his chair.

"When will you approach Katherine," Caroline asked Elijah before breaking her staring competition with Klaus to look over at him.

"Best to wait until after we have . . . spoken . . . with the witch again. If June truly is being difficult with Katerina, Katerina will be alert to danger in her presence. It may be worthwhile to wait until after she has concluded her business with June. She will be overly confident that her actions in London have gone unnoticed."

"I'm assuming you won't wait long after her meeting, if she's a flight risk," Caroline said trying to pry more information from the eldest Original.

"No we won't. We-"

"-Yes well. Let's leave some of our plans open to impulse, shall we?" Klaus stood from the table. Caroline was poking for information. He could hear it in her voice. 'Why does she care about our plans for Katerina?' Elijah, Rebekah, and Caroline stood from the table. "Elijah, you mentioned there were photographs of the wolf girl."

Caroline burned to see the pictures. She had to know if her suspicions were true. She hoped with every fiber of her being that it was not Hayley with Tyler. There was no good reason for her to be with him. Especially since she was practically useless most days of the month. It's not like carrying around a werewolf was logical protection for a hybrid. 'No reason other than they are together. _Together _together.' Caroline stopped herself. She couldn't think about that right now. She just hoped that if it was Hayley, Klaus didn't think to peg Tyler as the male vampire.

Elijah nodded and gestured toward the hall to their left, "Yes. They are in the library." Caroline turned towards the hallway about to walk toward the room Elijah had motioned too.

Klaus spun to Rebekah and Caroline stopping Caroline's progress to the library. "I hope you ladies won't mind if Elijah and I leave you to your own devices."

Caroline's disappointment pulled down her shoulders. 'He's not going to show us the pictures? No. I need to see them!' Caroline looked over at Rebekah hoping she was going to throw a tantrum. Rebekah looked unaffected at her brother.

"It's not like we need you in order to breathe, Nik," she remarked rolling her eyes and walking back to the sitting room.

Caroline didn't follow Rebekah immediately, but conceded defeat when Klaus smirked in a goodbye and proceeded down the hall after Elijah. From habit, Caroline flicked off the light in the dining room on her way out.

Walking back into the sitting room, Caroline saw Rebekah hold up a small tablet looking device in front of her. She touched a few buttons and the wall opposite the couch above a long, short shelving unit opened up to reveal a large television. Rebekah scrolled through a list on the touch screen.

"Does it bother you that they didn't want you to see the pictures?" Caroline asked hoping Rebekah secretly wanted to see them too. Sitting down on the couch she curled her feet up under her.

"No. Why would I care about some werewolf girl? Why do you care?" Rebekah asked, her eyes narrowing at Caroline.

Caroline put her hands up in the air, "I don't."

Rebekah just stared for a moment. "Nik says you are hiding something."

'I'm screwed,' Caroline thought. "Am not. If anyone has been keeping anything from anyone, it's him," Caroline said defensively.

"Right," Rebekah said unconvinced. After a moment, she looked back down at the little screen. She hit a button and the opening for Universal Pictures began to show on the t.v. across the room. "I don't know what your game is, but my brother seems to have taken a shine to you. I don't know how many times you have to lie and betray him before he realizes that you aren't worth his attention."

Caroline's eyebrows furrowed indignantly. "Wow, Rebekah. Tell me what you really think."

"I think his infatuation with you is tedious. If you don't want him, you need to tell him outright in a way that will be final. If you do want him, then stop playing hard to get like an attention hungry child."

'Did Rebekah Mikaelson just call _me_ an attention hungry child.' She scoffed. "I was being sarcastic, Pot."

"Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to, _Kettle_." Caroline thought she saw a hint of a smile on Rebekah's mouth.

"It wasn't a question."

Rebekah rolled her eyes with a sigh before she got up to go to the dry bar. "Drink?"

"Vodka. Neat." Caroline was ready to get drunk. It had been a long day, and she still had to figure out how to find and get to Tyler before Klaus and Elijah did.

Rebekah brought back their drinks a moment later and sat down again. "So you do want him?"

Caroline jolted, "What?!" Her cheeks flushed and her eyes grew large.

Rebekah grinned as if she was excited to participate in girl talk."Let's retrace our verbal steps. I said either you don't want him and you should tell him or you do want him and you are an attention hungry child. You then reacted defensively and made reference to a pot calling a kettle black. This was supposed to be a jab at me because you think I am an attention whore. But, the point is, you accepted the insult of being an attention hungry child because deep down, that's the part of my this-or-that sentence you felt you fell into." Rebekah looked back at the t.v. screen, "You want Nik."

"I . . . no!" Caroline huffed. "I . . . stop twisting things. I don't . . . want N-Klaus. I have a boyfriend."

Rebekah made a short disgusted sound and turned her full body toward Caroline. "You still on about that stupid Lockwood boy? I'm sorry, but not only is he an all around asshole, he's an entitled small-towner that plays at dominance but has no head for leadership. He's a _boy_, Caroline. Are you going to be his _girl_ forever?" Rebekah raised an eyebrow as she spoke these last words.

Caroline didn't know what to say. She wanted to defend Tyler, but in moments of anger, she had had very similar thoughts. But Klaus? "Klaus has killed so many people that I know and care about, Rebekah. And every day that Tyler is on the run for his life, is another day that Klaus has taken someone that I love away from me. There are moments when your brother is funny and playful and charming," Caroline almost smiled thinking about him reading her Miss Mystic Application before her face fell saddened, "but more often than not he is vindictive, cruel, and impulsive. What do you want me to say?" Caroline just looked at Rebekah for a moment then took a large drink from her glass.

"Wow," Rebekah said with a look of understanding on her face. She lifted up the controller and hit a button to mute the t.v. and turned back to Caroline. "I won't lie and say he isn't damaged. He is. But he wasn't born cruel. Growing up, Nik was my hero. It felt like he saved me from something every day. I know you are aware of what our life was like before Michael was killed, so I won't repeat all that. All I can say is that I never once blamed my brother for turning out the way he did." Rebekah paused briefly to take a drink. "I've been with him most of these 1000 years, longer than any of my other siblings, and, while I admit to being very angry or hurt with him on occasion," Rebekah gave a little smile, "I never truly felt as if his behavior was _inexplicable_. And to be quite honest, Caroline, I don't like you all that much, and I think my brother deserves a queen not a cheerleader, but I haven't seen him want anyone in all these years the way he wants you." Rebekah's eyes fell to the floor momentarily. "Loneliness does terrible things to the soul, Caroline. Tyler has been gone for weeks-You've felt lonely for _weeks_. Call me in a millennia and let me know how well adjusted you still are."

Caroline took a breath. This conversation was not turning out the way she thought it would. Holding up her glass, she finished her drink. "Fair enough." Caroline stood and began to walk out of the sitting room. "I'm tired. Will you let the guys know I've gone to bed?"

"Yes." Rebekah was about to unmute her movie but turned back around to Caroline. "I don't know why you really came to London, but it doesn't really matter. Use this trip to put your head right. My brother may be the big bad hybrid, but he is not apathetic. Don't make the mistake of thinking your indecision doesn't affect him." Rebekah shook her head slightly, "Klaus isn't the safe choice, but you will live for a very long time, Caroline, and safe choices will not get you anywhere exciting."

"Bravo," Caroline said sarcastically.

"Take it or leave it," she said with a sigh turning back to the screen.

Caroline couldn't help but feel deflated by the conversation. She did not expect to have Rebekah give her such a potent earful. 'I'm not being indecisive, am I? No, I've told Klaus to leave me alone.' She knew Rebekah loved her brothers, but the way she spoke about them truly was a testament to behold. Caroline had much to think about as she made her way up to her room.

While Caroline's feet scooted up the stairs, Rebekah's head shifted in the direction of the dining room as if she heard something. She waited to hear Caroline's door close before she stood up from the couch and walked to the swinging door that led to the dining room. Standing at the threshold, she pushed the door open with one hand and glanced to her left. "Eavesdropping is rude," she said softly to Klaus as he leaned against the wall in the dark room. He stared at the ceiling, his face ripe with emotion. He didn't move or speak, so Rebekah stepped through the door and leaned on the wall to the side of him. She wrapped her arm around his and placed her head down on his shoulder. "Are you still mad at me?"

Slowly his arms lifted and fell around Rebekah wrapping her in a firm and protective embrace. "Yes."

Rebekah smiled.

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**I hope you guys don't think Klaus and Rebekah are OOC. I love their love/hate relationship and wanted to explore it. Feel free to give me notes if you feel like anything is off or inconsistent and don't forget to review! Remember, this is my first fanfic, so critique will only help me.**

**Sorry for the delay in this update. I'll get the next chapter up soon. =)**


	6. Chapter 6

The sun was just peaking into the windows in Caroline's room. She hadn't been able to sleep well after the conversation at the table and the later one with Rebekah. She was torn between being scared for Tyler's safety, hating Tyler for the potential discovery of him being with Hayley, and a curious weight in her chest concerning Rebekah's urging her to make a decision about Klaus. She had quickly learned that worrying about Tyler wasn't going to get her anywhere and fretting about Hayley even though she didn't know for sure Hayley was even with him was wholly unproductive. The question of Klaus was a different matter.

'Okay, Caroline. Be honest with yourself. -Am I being indecisive? I didn't think I was. I've told Klaus that I love Tyler. And, God knows I've rejected him enough times. Sure, I'm nice to him on occasion but that's to help distract him usually. I have to help my friends when they ask for it. I would do anything for them, and if that means taking advantage of Klaus' feelings, then so be it. Wow. That's cold. Not as cold as Klaus though. He's killed so many people.' Caroline's mind flashed to the man at the carnival after she had just been turned. Then, it swirled into the image of Stefan. 'Stefan is one of my best friends, and he's killed _a lot_ of people. Why is Stefan forgivable but Klaus isn't? Stefan himself said that maybe Klaus was just like the rest of us. The lonely version. Listen to me. My own brain is defending Klaus. Have I not been clear with him? No. I have. Do I even like Klaus? Yes. Whoa, Caroline, what? I like him? Yeah, I guess I do. He has never hurt me without provocation, and when I'm forced to be nice to him, it's not at all awful. He does say some beautiful things. He's very intelligent and what I told Rebekah was true. He does laugh and play when he's with me, and while he does have a whole other side, it's not always cruel and hateful. He was in full on Mission Mode when Alaric went all crazy and pegged me and Elena down at the school, but when he pulled me to the side, he was nothing but soft and protective. '

"Ugh!" Caroline groaned frustrated. 'Seriously, Caroline! Do you hate Klaus?' Caroline took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling above the bed. The room was still dark, the windows still only a slight glow. She tried with all her might to keep the answer from ringing in her head. She tried to make the answer go away, so she could convince herself of a different one, but it wouldn't go. 'No. Not hate. I am seriously _mad _at him. But not _hate_. I definitely hate that I don't hate him. And, at least, I know that I should hate him.' She smiled sardonically and shook her head. 'Good job. Admit it, you know you want to forgive him. I like him. I'm a terrible person. I like Klaus. What is it about him that he can do all these horrific things, and I still don't hate him. He wants to kill Tyler for crying out loud!' Thinking of Tyler made the worry manifest again, 'I can't let him hurt Tyler. I have to find him and warn him. But how? I don't know where he's staying, and Klaus is already suspicious. I can't ask him. The pictures. I have to see those pictures. Maybe they'll give me a clue where he is.'

Making up her mind, Caroline threw off her blanket and tip toed over to the door. Standing up she could feel how exhausted she was. She had not slept well the night before either. She tried to open the door as quietly as possible, but she couldn't stop the faint creak the hinge made. Listening closely to the other rooms she could hear nothing but steady breathing from Klaus, Rebekah, and Elijah. 'Good. No one is downstairs.' She stepped lightly as she made her way down to the ground floor.

She didn't have to look too hard to find the library, and it was pretty much what she expected. All of the walls except one off to the side were covered in wooden bookshelves sporting a near black varnish. Before a hearth sat a comfy seating area, and over in the far end of the room was a large black desk. As she made her way across the room she admired the feeling of the classically patterned rug that squished under her feet. Figuring pictures would be somewhere on or in the desk that was the first place she headed for.

Once she had made her way around to the back side of the desk, she pushed the chair to the side and flicked on the small tiffany lamp. The desk top was very tidy. It looked like a desk should, minus any indication that it was ever used. Caroline opened the drawer in the center. There was nothing exciting there. She pushed around a few pens and clips, but there were no papers, so she moved to the drawer on the left. This drawer was similar to a file cabinet. Caroline skimmed through a few of the files, but they seemed to be no more than legal documents for the property. Caroline looked to her right at the other drawer. 'It has to be in there!'

It wasn't long after Caroline started shuffling through the contents of the right drawer that she accepted that it wasn't there either. The papers in the right drawer were even more useless than the ones in the left. Caroline huffed like a disappointed child, she walked around briefly looking for other places one might find papers, but there was nowhere other than the desk for them to be. In a tiff she let herself fall into a lean against the side of the desk. It was then that she saw it. A tiny corner of a manila folder hung out past some of the books on the shelf in front of her. She inched forward to take a closer look.

Caroline nearly laughed out loud when she noticed the folder was nestled between a copy of The Taming of the Shrew and Macbeth. "And people say I'm not subtle." Grabbing the file from between the books and opening it, Caroline came across photographs of Katherine. She scurried over to the desk and without sitting down began to spread the pictures out around the desk top. Halfway through the pile she noticed a street sign visible behind Katherine's figure in one of the photos. She pulled the paper up closer to get a better look.

"Find what you were looking for?"

Caroline's eyes shot up. She could feel her heartbeat speed up within her chest. "Klaus," she breathed. There he stood at the door with a cold look in his eyes. Though his face held little expression, his jaw was tense and his eyes burned into her.

When she didn't answer, Klaus walked slowly towards her. Even in her state of panic, Caroline took a moment to appreciate the sight of him. He wore a fitted, dark, slightly deep V neck shirt that, with its thin fabric, hid none of his musculature and black pj pants that hung dangerously low on his hips. His blonde curls were messed and his many necklaces spread out over his bit of exposed chest. 'Seriously, Caroline, this is hardly the time! He just caught you spying. He's pissed.' Klaus stopped not more than a foot from her.

"I wonder why you need to snoop?" Klaus' voice was enough to make her shiver. He released his words in a deep, angry purr. "I know you are up to something, Caroline. What is it?"

Caroline picked up her chin and met Klaus' eyes with her own. "I couldn't sleep. I was curious about the pictures Elijah mentioned, so I came down to look at them."

In a swift movement, Klaus leaned into her, his mouth unnervingly close to her neck. She could feel his breath on her ear and couldn't help but let her eyes slide shut at the sensation. His whisper was sensual yet still laced with hostility, "Liar."

Caroline took a step back. She didn't like him being so close. It was like he radiated dominance and heat. "I am not lying." She wasn't, technically.

Klaus took a step forward following her, "You are. What is your game, because I really doubt you came all the way to Britain to have a conversation with me about your pup." Klaus' voice was gradually getting more menacing. "Why did you come here?"

Caroline took another step back. The aggression was dripping off of him. "I told you why I came here."

"Don't lie to me!" Klaus yelled taking two quick steps toward her backing her up against the shelfless wall.

Caroline's breathing had grown heavy as her heart sped up even more. What with Klaus' threatening approach and the lack of space between his body and hers, she was having a hard time keeping her thoughts straight. She didn't know what to say. She couldn't tell him about Tyler. Now that she had admitted to herself that she didn't hate Klaus and might like him, lying to him gave her a sickening feeling, but she couldn't betray Tyler like that. Klaus saw through her half truths. 'Change the subject,' she decided.

"Is this behavior supposed to make me trust you?" She said, her voice cracking but still strong. "What do you plan to do, Klaus?" she challenged. Klaus had bit her before, sure, but he had never lifted a hand to her and as far as she knew, he had never compelled her. She should be afraid, but she wasn't.

Klaus' face altered making him look less angry and more exasperated. He let out a breath and looked to the wall above her. He could hear her heartbeat strong and fast, and her labored breathing made him shiver. He couldn't believe how tightly she had him wrapped up in her. 'How could a woman make me want to kill her and fall to my knees all at the same time?' Caroline tried to slide out from between him and the wall, but, not wanting her to move, Klaus calmly braced his arm against the wall beside her shoulder. Her eyes drifted back up to his, and she noticed they had softened considerably. Klaus' voice dropped just above a whisper, "Why did you come, Caroline?"

She couldn't tell the truth, but she didn't want to lie again, so she didn't say anything at all. She just stood there trapped between the wall and Klaus becoming more and more aware of their proximity. She felt like each breath brought them fractionally closer together. Caroline couldn't seem to stop staring at his mouth. His lips were dark and plump. 'Get a grip on your libido, Caroline.' To calm herself, she dropped her eyes to the floor and away from Klaus.

Klaus felt the tension building between them, and when her eyes dropped down, he immediately missed their stare. Gazing down at her he didn't fail to take in what little clothing she had on. The teal shorts she wore fully exposed her long, pale legs and the white tank top hid nothing of the shape of the skin beneath it. Wanting to see her eyes on him again, Klaus brought his hand up to her neck and lifted her chin lightly.

Red flags were thrown and warning bells rang inside of Caroline's head.

His blue eyes explored her face slowly and came to rest on hers. Instead of keeping his hand beneath her face, Klaus softly ran his thumb across her jawline and settled it just behind the underside of her ear.

Her brain told her to run, but her body seemed to be planted by the aching, cramping sensation beneath her naval. She tried to take a deep breath to steel herself but only succeeded in breathing in the smell of him. It was dark and wild, 'Like Klaus.'

Klaus could see her eyes glazing as she looked up at him and could feel her chest rise and fall as he stepped into her. Her lips parted, and it drove him wild with need. He could feel himself harden at the very idea of finally getting to kiss her again; this time, with his own lips and in his own body. She would know it was him kissing her this time, and she would want it from him.

Caroline was flush against the wall now. She could not catch her breath. Klaus' mouth was so close to hers that she could feel his hot breath on her lips. The battle between her brain and her body was raging, and she was running out of time. She could see his eyes begin to close and her resolve snapped into place.

"Klaus?" She panted.

He stilled. Opening his eyes, he pulled back to look at her. The lust evident on his face made Caroline's insides burn.

"I can't do this!" Caroline quickly ducked under his arm and ran from the room, up the stairs, and into her bedroom with no delay. Closing the door behind her, she tried to get control of her breathing. 'What the hell just happened?!'

* * *

**What do you think? Too soon? I'm trying to balance the fact that she is still technically with Tyler with the fact that she hasn't seen him in weeks (and he didn't bother to call her that whole time) and that Klaus (a ridiculously sexy man) wants her to be with him in a much bigger way than Tyler does. I'm trying to feel it out, so let me know what you think.**

**Also, sorry about the shorter chapter, the next one will be much longer.**

**Thank you so much for reading! I'll update very soon.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and followed. I'm so glad you are enjoying this story!**

**So, this chapter is a little faster pacing than the ones before. It's kind of a filler, but no worries, it'll pick up soon. **

* * *

'I almost kissed Klaus! What? He caught me spying; he was angry and then, BOOM, I'm sporting lady wood! Not to mention Klaus' . . . oh, don't think about that, Caroline. I shouldn't be acting like this. I'm in a relationship, and I am not a cheater. I may not be a perfect person, but I'm not a cheater.' Caroline took a cleansing breath and let her shoulders fall down to their normal position. Walking over to the bed she lifted the blankets and crawled into them. 'It's like he makes me forget myself.'

Just when she thought she might be calm enough to go back to sleep, she heard footsteps coming up the stairwell, across the hall, and stopping in the hallway. 'Oh god, please be standing in front of your door and not mine,' she prayed. She honestly didn't know what would happen if she saw him again right now. 'Would I break?' She wanted to think her resolve was stronger than that, but she had come so close to throwing her hands in the air, saying, "Fuck it," and letting him take her against that wall. 'Stop it! Don't think about that!' Too late. Her mind already spun with images of Klaus grabbing her thighs and lifting her up to push her hard up on the wall. 'I'm going to hell.' She focused her attention back to the hallway just in time to hear the click of Klaus' door closing behind him. Caroline sighed loudly in relief.

* * *

The moment her eyes popped open she slammed them shut again. The room was brightly lit as indirect sunlight glided in through the windows. Deciding she hated this room after all, she grabbed giant handfuls of the duvet and pulled it up over her head. 'How will I face him?'

The door to her room shot open, and Caroline nearly wimpered at the idea that Klaus had come to finish what had been started early that morning. Pulling the blanket down from her face slowly, she was confronted with an odd sight. Rebekah stood in front of her with one hand on her hip and an expectant look on her face. Caroline smiled, "Am I dreaming or are you wearing sweats?" Rebekah looked like something out of the 80's. While her sweats did lack the elastic band on the ankle, the large, wide necked, red shirt that hung off one of her shoulders and the messy ponytail that shot up off the very top of her head was enough to complete the picture.

Rebekah wasn't laughing. "You're hilarious. Get out of bed. I'm bored stiff and my brothers are gone."

"Am I your entertainment today?" Caroline said in a mock-British accent not failing to be relieved that Klaus wouldn't be downstairs.

"Don't make me stake you. Get downstairs; Gemma has tea prepared." Rebekah turned to leave.

Caroline sat up in bed and glared up at the windows. "What time is it?"

Rebekah scoffed on her way out, "Do I look like a clock?"

* * *

Caroline hadn't bothered to dress. She still wanted to shower, so there was no point in dressing for the day before that. She did however have the forethought to throw a lightweight sweatershirt over her head. She entered the dining room to find Rebekah sitting at the table with her legs crossed beneath her on the chair. "Finally," she said throwing a strawberry into her mouth.

"Where are your brothers?" Caroline sat directly opposite Rebekah at the table. The table between them had a small but variable spread on it. She could see small pastries, little cakes, and a plethora of different cut fruits.

"They ran off early to go interrogate the witch."

"Oh . . . What kind of tea is this?" Caroline said pointing to the pot off to her right. Rebekah laughed in amusement.

"You're in England. What kind of tea do you think it is?"

"Right." Caroline poured a small amount of milk into her cup followed slowly by the tea and then a very small spoon of sugar. Stirring up the liquid she looked back up at Rebekah who had been watching her the whole time.

"God, I'm so British."

Caroline smiled lightly. "Why do you say that?"

"You made your tea correctly. Suddenly, I feel you aren't so bad." Rebekah raised an eyebrow.

Caroline laughed out loud. "Next time we eat with Klaus, I'll make sure to put lemon and 4 big lumps of sugar in my tea. Then, maybe, he'll leave me alone."

It was Rebekah's turn to laugh. She seemed to relax slightly as she held her smile while sipping her tea.

Caroline spooned fruit onto her plate. "Speaking of being British: Why is it that Elijah doesn't have an accent, but you and Klaus do?" She was very careful to not mention Kol.

"We had always changed our accents depending on where we were in attempt to blend. Klaus and I always had a little bit of fun with it, but Elijah's accents, though always accurate, were a bit tame. I think when we went back to the states, Elijah was happy for an accent that didn't require flourish or special, exaggerated inflections. But, the English accent is closest to how we spoke as children, so I think Klaus and I are most comfortable with it." Rebekah took another sip. "And, especially in America, it certainly doesn't hurt to be British when you are trying to have a flirt."

Caroline grinned widely, "I'm sure." Caroline popped a chunck of apple in her mouth. When she finished chewing she asked Rebekah, "What are your plans today?"

"Well, since my brothers have abandoned me, I have made a few appointments. What about you?"

"I thought I would walk around a little. See London and all that."

Rebekah wrinkled her nose, "Have fun with that. Just make sure to write down this address before you go leaving. The last thing we need is for you to get lost and draw attention to yourself. Elijah thought to leave you some spending money. It's on the console table in the foyer."

Caroline hadn't thought of that, "That was very generous of him."

Rebekah nodded, "Yes, it was."

"It wasn't necessary-"

"Don't be dull, Caroline. No one cares. Knowing Elijah, he wants you to use it. Don't be such a wet blanket."

* * *

It was early afternoon by the time Caroline flagged down a cab. She was originally worried she would run out of time to do what she wanted to do that day, but quickly figured it would be smart to dine out on her own and sneak back into the flat tired and ready for bed late that evening. Then, maybe, she could avoid seeing Klaus all together.

She didn't get a great look at the pictures of Katherine, but she was able to catch the street sign. She directed the cabby in the direction of the street. When they arrived she asked him to drive up and down a few times until she finally recognized the street corner. She paid him and hopped out onto the sidewalk.

Caroline didn't really know what she was looking for, but she hoped that she would find a clue somewhere. Maybe she would get lucky and see one of them. She went up and down the street checking at all of the hotels she could find. There were many. More than she had anticipated. She never spoke directly to the employees; she would find the lobby phone and call reception. She hoped this would be more stealth. In the end she didn't get any hits and assumed it was because they weren't using their real names. She decided that she would come back the next day and check out the restaurants and cafes.

As she made her way out onto the street she took note that it had grown dark. She noticed a line forming on the opposite side of the street and in a fit of curiosity she walked across the road to check it out. She could hear a heavy beat coming from within the purple doors, and with the bouncers at the front, it was quite obvious she was looking at a club. The dress of the people in the line mixed with the even man to woman ratio had her guessing it was a dance club. She was very tempted to go in, but she was not about to go into a dance club looking anything less than sexy.

Though it was dark, she wasn't quite ready to head back to the flat, so she decided to go get some food. She hailed another cab, "I'm visiting London for the first time," she said to the cabby. "Is there a good restaurant you can recommend? Nothing fancy, I'm not dressed for it."

"I think I can work something out for you," the cabby smiled congenially.

After a fair amount of time, he pulled her up to a restaurant near the river.

She asked surprised, "It's a boat?"

"Yes, it is. Ask to sit on the front deck, I think you can see Big Ben from there."

"Thank you. It's perfect." She smiled at the cabby and paid him before following a couple in.

* * *

By the time Caroline traipsed through the door of the Mikaelson flat it was close to 10 o'clock. Normally, at this time she would have hardly been feeling tired but after only a little sleep, running around all day, and nursing a buzz at the restaurant for two hours, she was coming down and feeling like sleep would be very welcome.

"Where have you been?" His voice sent shivers up her spine.

Confronting Klaus slightly tipsy was not her ideal situation, so she just started climbing the stairs. "Out."

"I would have gone with you," he said disappointment in his voice. He followed around to the bottom of the staircase, but didn't follow her up.

"You weren't here. Don't worry, Klaus, you can show me the world some other day." With that she turned down the hallway and disappeared into her room. As soon as she hit the sheets she was already half asleep. Visions of the Thames and Big Ben danced in her head. She had had so much fun eating and drinking at the restaurant. She had made friends with a couple of English women at the bar, and they had had a high old time talking about the differences between British and American men. While she knew that Klaus was disappointed he didn't get to show her her first piece of international soil, Caroline was glad that she had made it her own journey. 'He can show me all the museums he wants tomorrow, but today was mine.'

Caroline fell asleep.

* * *

The next day was very similar. Caroline listened carefully from her room until Elijah and Klaus had gone and then bounced down already showered and dressed. She met up with Rebekah on the staircase.

"You're hair!" She exclaimed happily. Rebekah had cut her hair the day before. Caroline couldn't help but think that she looked adorable and modern. It was similar to a modest A-line bob but with frisky, natural looking curls all around.

"Don't make fun, I've never had my hair short, I don't know how I feel about it." Rebekah touched her hair self-consciously.

"I'm not making fun, you look amazing."

"You think?"

"Sit on a cracker, Rebekah, because guys are going to want to eat you up!" Caroline laughed. She couldn't help it. Rebekah's surly attitude was growing on her.

Rebekah smiled a genuine smile. Her chin came up slightly as she regarded Caroline, "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Rebekah sighed, "If only I could show it off properly. I had hoped my brothers would get their heads out of their asses and take us out tonight, but they tell me that we shouldn't expect them until late. Elijah promises that he and I will spend all day together tomorrow, but I have new hair, and I want to show it off to someone other than my brothers." She pouted. Caroline knew what Rebekah was talking about. It was like every time she came home with new clothes. She couldn't wait for an excuse to wear them.

She had an idea. "Screw your brothers! We don't need them to have a good time. Let's go out tonight. We'll go to a club. I saw one yesterday that looked intriguing, and the line was huge so it must be popular."

Rebekah's eyes lit up. She tried to hide it, but she seemed to squirm with excitement. "Yes! I'll have to buy something to wear. Did you bring anything?"

"I'm sure I could rustle something up," she said her eyes glancing sideways to the ceiling while she did a mental inventory of her luggage.

"No. Let's really have fun. We'll get all made up and leave early. We can go to the shops and buy something to die for on the way there."

'A shopping excursion with Rebekah?' Caroline couldn't help herself, she loved a good shopping trip. "It's a date!"

Rebekah took a beat to look at Caroline. "You aren't awful, Caroline."

"Uh, thanks?"

"You touring London again today?"

"Yes. I'll be back by . . . five?"

"Five is perfect, I am meeting with an old friend at three, so I should be coming back around that time too."

"Good. Five it is." Caroline finished her descent down the stairs and Rebekah went up into her room.

Once outside, Caroline motioned over a cab. 'Okay. Restaurants and cafes. Someone has to have seen them.' The ride over was quiet, but she was glad. She could press her face up against the windows and take in bits of London better this way. Once the cabby pulled over, Caroline popped out ready and full of energy. She had an idea walking into the first café, she pulled out her phone and skimmed through her pictures. 'Yes! I still have it!' She enlarged the photo of Tyler, Elena, and Bonnie, so it took up the whole screen. It had been taken during their last movie night back before Alaric had gone batshit, Elena was turned, and Tyler got bodyjacked. Caroline had made a big deal of wanting a photo of her favorite people.

She approached the barista behind the main counter. "Hi. I'm supposed to meet someone here, but I'm running kind of late. Could you tell me if you've seen them here?" Caroline held up her phone to the barista.

The young girl looked it up and down, "Nope. They don't look familiar."

"Okay, thanks, they must be running behind too." Caroline nodded goodbye and made her way out of the café.

Caroline continued on this way for several hours. It wasn't until about 4:30, when she was about to give up on the whole venture, that a bust boy at a little hole in the wall bistro gave her some hope.

"I'd remember her anywhere. Her hair is different, but it's definitely her. She's been by a couple times. I haven't seen her today though." He said awkwardly smiling at Caroline a little sheepishly.

"Do you know where she's staying?"

"Uh, no. Don't you have her phone number? Maybe just stick around for a while. If she's running late, she'll probably call or show up soon."

Caroline sighed. 'Well, that was pointless. I'm in the same boat as before. I know they're here somewhere, but where? If she's been here a few times, then she's got to be staying nearby.' Caroline sat on one of the bistro's chairs feeling helpless. 'If I had only microchipped Tyler.' Caroline laughed at her own joke. She looked down at her phone, 4:40 p.m. 'I'm due back at the flat. Guess I'll just do one last sweep tomorrow.' Before she got up, she called Tyler's regular number hoping maybe he was still able to get her voicemails somehow.

"Tyler, it's me. Look. I'm in London. I've been looking everywhere for you-to warn you. Klaus is here. He's in London. You have to get out of town. They are on to Katherine. They plan to take her out the day after tomorrow. You can't be with her when they do. I really hope you get this because I don't know what else to do. Please, get out of town, Tyler."

* * *

"That green washes you out a little." Caroline said as her and Rebekah stood on a pedestal in front of a large mirror.

"Yeah. I think so too. I like that cut on you, but it's a little too . . . safe."

Caroline laughed. "Fair enough." Caroline and Rebekah headed back into their respective changing rooms.

"So, why are you avoiding my brother?" She questioned. Had Caroline been human, she would have needed to raise her voice, but her normal volume was all that was needed.

"I'm not avoiding Elijah."

"Ugh!" Rebekah groaned. "Always the comedian. Nik! Why are you avoiding _Nik_? Is it because of that fight you had at an insanely early hour yesterday?"

"You heard that, huh?"

"Unfortunately I didn't wake up until it had already gotten interesting."

"Well, I'm sure you've already put two and two together. As you had already blabbed, Klaus thinks I've got some sort of sneaky plan in effect. I couldn't sleep, so I went into the library to see those pictures of Katherine-"

"-You what?!"

"It's not that big of a deal. I was curious. He took it as espionage and flipped out."

"I don't blame him. Nik doesn't trust well as it is, let alone with someone who has fooled him already on _several_ occasions."

"I don't see why he can't just accept that I came here for the reasons I told him. Ouch!" Rebekah's shoe came down from over the wall of the changing room and hit her on the head. "That hurt!"

"If you were telling the truth, Caroline, which you are not, but if you were, did you really think Klaus would believe that you actually _wanted_ to go to London with him?"

The question made Caroline feel sad. "Why wouldn't he believe that the woman he fancies wants to give him a chance."

"Caroline, you may be blonde, but you aren't dumb. I'm done, you?"

"Yeah." Caroline walked out of the dressing room. She had to do a double take on Rebekah as she pushed her curtain aside. "Whaaaat! That is the one for sure!" Rebekah was wearing an emerald green dress that hugged her body tightly until about mid thigh. The texture of the fabric made her look like she was wrapped up mummy style in green bandages. It only had one long sleeve, leaving her other shoulder completely exposed. Down the side of her body on the sleeveless side, the dress sported gaps between the "bandages". Peaking through you could see small diamonds of Rebekah's skin.

Rebekah jumped up in front of the mirror. "It's not too much?"

"Absolutely not. If I were a man, I'd _definitely_ do you." Caroline laughed out.

Rebekah smiled, "Of course you would. All right, then. Let's see you." She scooted to the side to allow Caroline to come up beside her. "The color is great with your eyes! But it's very simple."

As if revealing a surprise, Caroline spun around showing Rebekah her back. "Oh?"

"Bag it! You're buying it!" Rebekah screeched. While the front of Caroline's dress was eye catching with its semi-shiny, dark electric blue coloring, it _was_ a simple cut. It was a touch shorter than Rebekah's , but just as form fitting with two inch straps that came down into a large rounded neckline. Sure, it accented her cleavage nicely, but it was the back that really stole the show. The fabric that made up the dress didn't exist on the space over her back. The dress deeply dipped on her lower back, but that wasn't what made the dress special. The span of her back wasn't bare but covered in a delicate gold lace that seemed to shimmer.

"Yeah?" Caroline prodded. "I think so too."

"Good. All done! Let's grab some accessories and get to this club."

"Lets!"

* * *

**Things will start to get a little more interesting as of the next chapter! I know I kinda made Rebekah and Caroline a little girly this chapter, but I figured that Caroline needed some girl time, and I am firmly of the opinion that Rebekah could ALWAYS use girl time.**

**Please Review! ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys, I know the story has been running low on the Klaroline, but bear with me. I am trying to be fair to the feelings of the characters, so I'm not going to let Caroline just throw herself at him. But, have patience. It's coming.**

**Also, thank you to my reviewers, favoriters, and followers! A special thanks to those reviewers who have taken a moment to give me notes! You guys make my day!**

It was close to 9 o'clock by the time Caroline and Rebekah walked up to the club. Caroline had never been to a real dance club and was excited to see the inside. Following Rebekah's lead, she clicked her heals straight up to the bouncer ignoring the line. Rebekah looked at him with a small smile, her chin lifted in confidence. After giving them a thorough look over, the bouncer leaned down unlatching the red velvet rope and motioning them through. Caroline drifted behind Rebekah's sure strides.

"Did you compel him?"

"Please. I didn't have to," Rebekah scoffed.

The inside of the club was more than Caroline had hoped for. She had heard of clubs that consisted of multiple rooms, but this was not that kind of club. To her, it looked to be about the size of her school gym minus the bleachers. There were a few tight, spiral staircases around the room that led up to a balcony type level that circled the entire room. On the balcony Caroline could make out two bar stations from where she stood. There were cushioned seating areas surrounding the perimeter of the ground floor where people were drinking and mingling, but the whole center of the building was a giant dance floor. The music thumped into Caroline's chest as she surveyed the room and the colorful lights that spun around made her eyes grow large.

The décor was black with strong jewel tone accents. The tables themselves were black but the chairs shone a royal purple. Deep crimson stripes sparkled on the multiple pylons throughout the room, and the bottles illuminated behind the bars were the bright greens of Midori, the deep blues of Blue Curacao, and the purples of Parfait Amour. It made Caroline think of finding jewels in a cave.

"Nice find!" Rebekah smiled hugely. "Why were you in this part of town?"

Caroline's heart skipped, "Uh, I . . . got lost. I was exploring London at the time, so I just sort of went with it."

"Lucky for us you have no sense of direction," Rebekah said over her shoulder walking towards the bar. Once she got there she pushed her and Caroline through the bundles of people in front of the bar until they were pressed up against its slick service. It took no time for the bartender to notice them.

"What can I get you?" He asked with a flirty smile.

"Gin and Tonic and . . . Caroline?"

"Oh . . . um . . . Apple Martini," she yelled to the bartender over the music. Looking around, Caroline could already see that they had caught the attention of a few of the guys around the bar. A moment later, when the bartender returned with their drinks, she watched Rebekah reach for his hand and look into his eyes. "Thanks," she purred coquettishly, her eyes dilating.

"You're welcome," he replied dazed. Rebekah grabbed their drinks and motioned Caroline to one of the small tables off to the side.

"Was that necessary? You're like super rich, and he's probably scraping by with his paycheck," Caroline whined looking back at the bartender guiltily.

"You are being dull again," Rebekah sang as she scooted into one of the chairs. She looked distastefully down at Caroline's drink. "Apple Martini? Could you be a bigger _girl_?" She pulled her drink up and sipped it.

"Probably, if I ate more." Caroline quipped. Rebekah had to stop herself from spitting her drink out as her body attempted to laugh mid-sip. After she struggled to swallow, she loudly laughed while wiping a bit of gin and tonic from her nose. Caroline laughed with her.

Rebekah gestured off over Caroline's shoulder, "We've got a live one."

"What?" Caroline asked turning in her seat. Approaching their table holding a beer bottle each were two rather attractive men. She spun back around to look at Rebekah who raised her eyebrow looking off to the side as if she wasn't paying attention and slightly bouncing her head with the loud beat in the air.

"Ladies, you are too gorgeous to be sitting alone," the tall brunette said. His brown eyes were locked on Rebekah.

Rebekah gave a small smile, "Then, please, rectify the situation."

The brunette laughed a little and sat down next to Rebekah while his companion sat nearer to Caroline. "I'm Toby. This is my brother, Oliver."

Oliver turned to Caroline holding his hand out for her to take, "And you are?" She could just tell from the smile he had splashed across his face that he had no problem picking up women. His hair was a lighter brown than Toby's, but they had the same brown eyes.

"Caroline. This is Rebekah," she said shaking his hand smiling brightly and tossing her head in Rebekah's direction.

* * *

Four drinks and two beers later, Rebekah and Caroline found themselves on the dance floor with Toby and Oliver. Caroline couldn't remember the last time she let herself go like this. Mystic Falls was a constant doomsday, and she was glad for the distraction. 'Maybe I needed to leave town for a few days.' Caroline moved back and forth with the beat and let her arms fold in the air over her head. 'Wait, what?' Caroline stopped dancing to look around. She could have sworn she heard something. Something familiar.

"You okay, Caroline?!" Oliver shouted over the music.

"Yeah, I'm fine! I'm going to take a breather. Can you find another dance partner?" She asked smiling knowing he could.

"If I must but come back, k?" He said holding his hand over his heart dramatically. Caroline nodded then shook her head at his silliness as she walked to the side of the dance floor. 'He's such a ham.'

Once she reached the edge, she turned back towards the middle. 'What did I hear?' She listened as closely as she could . . .

"-with friends, I can't just ditch them-"

"-you a theif? Cuz you just stole my-"

"-WOOOOOOO!-"

"-just shut up and dance with me-"

'TYLER! That's Tyler!' Caroline's eyes tore in the direction the voice and her heart pounded in her chest. She wiggled through a few dancing couples and stopped dead at the vision in front of her. There stood Tyler on the dance floor holding onto the hips of . . . Hayley. Caroline took a moment to see red. The vision of him standing behind her holding onto her, his head tucked slightly over Hayley's shoulder and Hayley looking up at him was enough to make her want to scream. She could feel the rushing tickle of the veins under eyes darkening and swelling and her eyes sharpened the way they always do when they turned that reddish black. As she stood there watching, Tyler bent his head down and lingeringly kissed Hayley's neck. She could feel her gums start to ache. "I will tear him limb from fucking limb!' Caroline was livid, but she didn't have time for this. Her eyes shot over to where she had last seen Rebekah. Rebekah was too distracted by Toby, but from where she stood, Tyler and Hayley were definitely in her line of sight. In that moment fear overtook her, and she walked quickly towards Tyler.

Tyler noticed her when she was still a few paces away. His eyes widened, and he pushed back from Hayley like she was diseased. Caroline could see his mouth start to say her name, and in one flash she was in front of him with her hand on his mouth. Thankfully, she was in a room full of drunk people with low lighting, so she doubted anyone noticed her speeding through a few steps. Over her hand, Tyler's eyes looked confused. Caroline motioned with her eyes to show him why he shouldn't speak. Tyler looked to his left when Caroline removed her hand, and he saw Rebekah. He took in a silent gasp and his head shot back to Caroline. She started backing away and tilted her head for him to follow. She glared over at Hayley who looked concerned but not ashamed as Caroline would have wanted her to. Hayley looked to Tyler who grabbed her hand roughly and followed Caroline out of the crowd.

Caroline didn't know what to do, but she knew if Rebekah saw Tyler, Klaus would know in the span of time it took Rebekah to get to her phone. Caroline hustled them into the very back of the club and through an employees-only entrance.

Once the door shut behind them, Hayley piped out, "What the hell is going on?"

Caroline's eyes changed and her teeth pushed out quickly as she approached Hayley stopping abruptly just in front of her. Hayley took an unintentional step back bumping into the wall. Caroline's voice came out dark and firm, "If you open your mouth again: Bitch, I will _eat_ you." Hayley's eyes narrowed, but she didn't try to speak.

"Caroline, what are you doing here?!" Tyler asked grabbing her arm and turning her towards him. Caroline ripped her arm away. Her eyes and teeth reverting to their normal state.

"What am_ I_ doing here? What are _you_ doing here?!"

"I told you on the phone. I'm here with Katherine-"

"-And Hayley. Let's not forget _Hayley_, Tyler." Caroline said throwing her hands in Hayley's direction.

"We've found a way to kill-"

"SHHHH! She may hear you!" Caroline didn't know if saying names was really an issue in a loud club, but she knew that she always seemed to tune in more when a familiar name was mentioned in a nearby conversation.

"We can do it, Care." Tyler's eyes filled with hope. Caroline could remember a time when she thought that look was inspiring and comforting, but now it just made her think he was being stupid and naïve. She was trying and failing to push aside her anger.

"You aren't doing anything. As I tried to tell you before you hung up on me, Kl-_He_ is in London. He's here, and he and his family are here specifically to take down Katherine and get the cure. You aren't one step ahead of him, Tyler. That's why I'm here. England! I came here to warn you! If you stay, he will find you, and he will kill you."

"Not if we kill him first," Tyler said with a confident look.

Caroline's eyes doubled in size. "Don't be an idiot, Tyler."

"I'm not being an idiot, Care. We have a plan. It'll work. Whether he's here or in Mystic Falls." As he spoke Hayley moved to the door and looked out through the small window near the top.

Caroline could not believe what she was hearing. Her face fell as she looked at him. "Tyler, I came all the way to London to find you. I don't want you to die." Caroline looked over at Hayley bitterly. 'Even if you are scamming on me . . . ' She inched closer to him as her eyes began to water from the mixture of happiness to find him, fear he wouldn't listen, and anger that he was obviously hooking up with Hayley. "Please leave."

Tyler put his hands on Caroline's shoulders and spoke in a comforting voice, "It'll be all right, Care. Trust me."

She couldn't hear it anymore. She closed her eyes pushing a tear out and down her cheek. "For me? Leave, for me?"

"Care, I-"

"-He's here." Hayley jumped away from the door. Tyler's and Caroline's head flung in her direction.

"Who?" Tyler spit out.

Hayley's voice lowered to a lipped whisper, "Klaus."

'What?! Oh God! They must have gone home and realized we weren't there. They must have texted Rebekah to see where she was.' Caroline's brain went into damage control mode. 'Okay, think. You need to get Tyler out of this place.'

Tyler and Hayley looked at each other and then to Caroline. Tyler breathed, "If I face him now, he will definitely try to kill me."

"Try?! Wow, Tyler, that's adorable." Caroline spat at him sarcastically. "Okay. I'm going to go distract him then you sneak out through the emergency exit. Be fast," her eyes burned into Hayley, "and be quiet." Caroline went to leave but, once again, was stopped by Tyler's grip on your arm.

"Won't he be shocked you're here?"

Caroline sighed. Part of her wanted to scoff and sarcastically tell Tyler that she had arrived separately from him, and it was just a funny coincidence that they all happened to be at the same club at the same time. "Tyler, I came here with him and his siblings. They were my ticket to London. I had to get to you, and they were already on their way." She watched as his eyes went from confusion to anger to bitter acceptance.

"Go." He backed away from her as his eyes flicked toward the door.

She wanted him to understand the situation better, but she didn't have time. Caroline knew that Klaus would find Rebekah and immediately ask where she was, and when Rebekah said she didn't know, Klaus would listen for her. She didn't have time for an emotional scene. She walked over to the door, opened it, plastered a smile on her face, and hopped toward the dance floor towards the group of Originals like nothing was wrong.

At first, Caroline planned to try and get the Original gang to sit on one of the couches near the main entrance, but when her eyes met with Klaus', a new plan came into view. A conversation would hardly keep him properly distracted. Caroline took a deep breath and strutted towards him.

Rebekah greeted her with a wide grin. "Caroline! There you are!" Her face turned grim as she motioned to her brothers and her voice returned to its normal, grumpy tone. "They couldn't stay away."

Elijah gave her a cordial smile. "You look lovely, Ms. Forbes."

"Thanks, Elijah." Caroline summoned her courage and looked directly up into Klaus' eyes. She pulled her hair over one shoulder in preparation. She could almost feel his eyes on her skin, and it sent a wave of electricity through her. Reaching toward him with one hand and not for one second breaking eye contact, she coyly asked, "Dance with me?"

Klaus' eyes searched hers for a moment. Reaching for her hand he let her lead him toward the middle of the dance floor. The first few steps she took, she didn't waver in her stare and merely back stepped, but after a moment she turned around to pull him into the crowd farther. Klaus' breath caught in his throat as he glimpsed the beauty of Caroline's bare back through the gilded lace that fell over it. 'Perfect,' he thought with an inward whimper. When she had originally come towards them near the edge of the dance floor, he couldn't take his eyes off of her. Her dress fit her body perfectly, and all he could think of was slowly running his hands over all of those delicious curves. But this? Every light that flashed down from the ceiling made her skin glow and the lace glimmer. When they reached the middle of the floor, Caroline turned back to him.

"I'm assuming an old man like yourself can dance to this?" She stood only a few inches away from him. In her heals, she was only slightly shorter than him.

Klaus smirked. He wasn't exactly fond of the publicized mating ritual that young people called dancing these days, but he was not inept. He stepped up to her slowly, their bodies grazing slightly, and waited for her to make the first move.

Caroline was confident on the outside, but the inside of her head was running around in circles like its hair was on fire. As soon as she had felt him step up to her, her heart jumped and raced. It was like her body was independent of her mind and all it wanted was to reach for him. 'Are you going to do this, or not?' Caroline started to sway her hips slowly but still with the beat of the new song's intro. Looking over Klaus' shoulder she could see Tyler peaking through the employees-only door window. 'Make it happen, Caroline. If there's one thing you can do, it's dance.'

Caroline's eyes jumped back to Klaus'. Feeling an approaching shift in the music to a harder, faster beat, Caroline smiled widely and at the right moment just went for it. She swayed her hips back and forth with wild abandon. As she danced, she let her arms slowly raise, her hands grazing up her chest to her shoulders, neck, and then hair, messing her curls. She let her arms rise over her head before letting them fall down onto his chest. Holding them there, she unleashed every bit of eye flirt she could summon. 'Thank you, Dance Gods. A man that understands that hips can move!' The base echoed through her, and she couldn't stop staring at Klaus. He had surprised her when she had begun dancing, not missing a beat he began to bob, sway, and step with her. Like everything Klaus did, his dancing was confident and purposeful. He danced like a man that knew his body well and wasn't ashamed of any part of it. Without thinking, Caroline squeezed herself even closer to him. He eagerly responded by placing one hand on her hip and one hand on the side of her rib cage, his fingertips putting warm pressure on the skin of her back. Caroline felt her legs wobble as her lips parted, enjoying the feel of Klaus' hands on her.

His eyes burned into Caroline's. He let out a silent breath when he saw her mouth relax and her eyes glaze with his touch, and his head became numb and fuzzy. All he could see was her. All he could feel was her body pressed against his. Klaus was captured by the look in her eyes, their bright blue made darker by the dramatic coal lining them. 'Goddess.' Her breath flicked across his jaw, and he felt a distinct shiver pass from his shoulders down to his fingertips.

Caroline felt the intensity growing between them. Their bodies were nearly crushed together while they swayed back and forth, the music echoing the strong, quick beats in their chests. Caroline felt a dull ache swell within her. At first, she enjoyed it. She rolled around in it like a happy cat, but realizing she was in dangerous territory she tore her eyes from his and focused over his shoulder. Initially she was sure it would make the moment less intimate, but she was mistaken as her turned head allowed his breath to curl around her ear. The rush of air was one thing, but it was the sound of his heavy breaths that made her want to take him right then and there. Her body relaxed and melted into his as they continued to dance through the song.

When Caroline heard the last few beats, her eyes shot up from his neck where she had unknowingly been staring. She had forgotten to watch Tyler get out safely. Klaus was still standing very close to her, so she flicked her eyes to the emergency exit where she saw Hayley dragging Tyler into the alleyway and the door closing behind them. Caroline's eyes drifted shut when she realized that he had watched. He hadn't just run out, he had stayed to watch her dance with Klaus. For a brief moment she felt guilty, and then a hot rush of anger and a tinge of revenge filled her chest. 'Sucks to see the one you love with someone else, doesn't it!' Caroline threw her thoughts of Tyler aside. She would curse him and punch walls later, but this was hardly the time. She slowly pulled back from Klaus.

Glancing back into his face, all thoughts of Tyler truly dissolved. Klaus looked at her like he was holding in his arms the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Caroline softly mumbled, "How can you do that?"

Klaus eyebrows came together slightly, "Do what?"

She gave a little smile, "Look at me like you do? Like I'm the only thing you _need_ to see?"

Klaus kept his face calm, but she could see a spark catch in his eyes at her words. Not responding, he reached down, took her hand, and with a smirk began to lead her back to the others.

* * *

**So, sexy? Not sexy? Not sexy enough? lol What do you guys think of Tyler's behavior? Should Caroline still feel connected to him, or do you think him getting frisky with Hayley is unforgivable?**

**Thanks for reading! Please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**You guys are so amazing! Thank you so much for your reviews! It totally helps me pace the characters!**

**I'm sorry for the delay in posting. Most of my time is free and posting every 2-3 days isn't an issue, but my career is an on call sort of deal and incredibly taxing. It requires recovery time. Try to be patient with me during these little gaps.**

**Warning: I didn't have as much time to strongly edit this chapter, I figured you guys cared less about grammar and spelling and more about getting a new chapter at this point. =)**

**This chapter and the next are going to be mostly Klaus and Caroline, so enjoy!**

******DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or its characters.**

* * *

"I feel kinda famous!" Caroline laughed to Rebekah over the pop music they had blaring through the car stereo.

Rebekah turned to her with a raised eyebrow and a drunk smile on her face, "What? Why?"

"Think about it," she laughed. "Two drop dead gorgeous girls rockin' out in the backseat of a black SUV driven by two surly looking men with overly quaffed hair." Caroline's face changed to one of faux-serious consideration as her eyes shot back and forth between Elijah and Klaus.

Rebekah looked at her brothers and nodded emphatically, "You're right. Their hair does look suspicious." Rebekah scooted forward in her seat and stuck her head between the driver's and passenger's seats. "Now, boys, I hope you shook those many bottles of mousse before you applied it to your hair. If the mouse is flat, well, as you know, you might as well of used a light gel."

Klaus stepped firmy yet briefly on the brake pedal sending Rebekah sliding off the seat and into the floorboard of the backseat. "You should really wear a seatbelt, Bekah," Klaus said smirking to Elijah who chuckled to himself. Caroline laughed loudly and pulled at the seatbelt over her shoulder in a tease at Rebekah.

Rebekah huffed, "Ha ha." She wiggled back up onto the seat and threw her seatbelt on. "Why did we have to leave so early?"

"We have an early day, Rebekah. I promised you my undivided attention, and you shall have it," Elijah stated turning the music down slightly.

Rebekah groaned, "We're vampires, it's not like sleep deprivation will really be that big of a problem. I was having so much fun!" Rebekah looked over to Caroline appreciating the best semi-girl's night she could have hoped for. She gave the smallest of smiles to Caroline.

Caroline beamed back genuinely. She had been ready to leave the club and get back to the flat though. After her dance with Klaus, they had all gone to the balcony level and sat in one of the few booths that were stationed up there. They had made their way through several bottles of alcohol, at least Rebekah did, before Elijah had called the evening over. While Caroline had enjoyed the laughs and the enthralling conversation provided by three people that had experienced ten different centuries, she was soul-sick and knew she would need to have a good rage. She couldn't let it show for she wouldn't know how to explain herself, so she tried to push it aside and enjoy her Original company. Though, minus a few infuriating details, she had had fun with Rebekah, she was definitely ready to scream, or cry, into her lovely down pillow until she passed out; Which really wouldn't take long considering she was quite tipsy.

Once the car was parked, Elijah stepped out and opened Rebekah's car door for her. Rebekah spilled out of the SUV's foot and a half drop to the ground into her brother's arms giggling like a school girl. Caroline and Klaus watched with humored looks before exiting themselves. Just before Caroline closed her door Rebekah called, "Caroline!" Instead of walking around the tail end of the SUV, Caroline stood up on the floorboard and peered over the roof at Rebekah.

"Yeah?"

Rebekah stopped squirming and looked up to her. "Thank you. It's been a long time since I've had fun like that."

Caroline could see Elijah peer down at his baby sister with so much love and pride that Caroline's chest felt very full. She let a wide, honest smile cross her face. "We'll do it again sometime." Rebekah nodded contentedly and let Elijah finish escorting her inside and up to her room.

Caroline turned, still standing in the SUV, and noticed Klaus poised before her with his hand out to help her down. She looked down at his hand and then slowly let her eyes drift back to his blue eyes. She had two very real things happen to her this night. First, she was confronted with the man she thought she loved pawing all over another woman. The second was the most erotic dance she had ever shared with someone. She thought she had numbed the feelings with enough alcohol, but the fresh night air was clearing her cobwebs. She decided she could either feel hurt, or she could choose to dwell on the second real thing. Seeing as she had no intention of breaking down anywhere other than her room, she chose the latter. Caroline did not take Klaus' hand. Keeping her eyes on him, she put her hands on his shoulders and stepped off the car. She didn't try to brace her fall, use the SUV's side step, or step lightly. She didn't need to. Before she had fallen just a few inches, Klaus had his hands around her waist lowering her gently to the ground. She smiled knowingly at him.

Klaus was intrigued by her show of trust. He stared down at her with a look of wonder and curiosity. "You're going to break an ankle doing things like that, Love." He smiled lightly.

She knew she should probably be more guarded, but there was still enough alcohol in her system to take away any hesitation or discretion. "I knew you would catch me."

His eyes widened slightly as if he were surprised by her response.

Caroline took two steps forward away from the car, and he backed up to allow her to do so. Closing the door she started walking deftly into the flat with Klaus beside her. Their walk through the bit of house, up the stairs, and across the hall was quiet. Klaus was just opening his bedroom door when he looked over to her, "Thank you for the dance tonight."

She stopped walking into her bedroom and leaned against the doorframe as she glanced over at him. His face was pleased yet something about it made her think he was thanking her for more than a dance. "I don't hate you, Klaus."

His eyes cleared as he straightened himself and regarded her with interest. "No?"

"No. I've tried very hard, but it's not there. I've even found myself enjoying _you_ on occasion," she uttered her eyes fixated on the doorframe her fingers restlessly swirled around on. She heard Klaus release his breath, so she peered back up at him. His eyes were closed as if he was trying to control something within himself.

After a mere moment, they flicked open and back to her, "That truly is a compliment coming from you."

She sighed leaning her head against the door jam. "You were right. I am hiding something from you."

Klaus was caught off guard. He blinked the confusion away before saying, "Oh?" His jaw tensed as he waited for the ball to drop.

"You have always respected me, Klaus. Maybe not in the way I wanted or expected, but you are very powerful, and if you wanted me, you could have taken me." Caroline's expression was soft and her voice clear. "But, you didn't. You've patiently waited for me to come to you." Caroline bounced up off the wall and took a few steps toward Klaus where he stood still holding the door knob. Her eyes drifted to the floor. "I don't want to lie to you. I want you to know that. Know that if I could tell you, if it was within me to tell you what's going on, I would. As much as I will hate it, if you ask me what I'm up to, I won't say." She breathed in deep before looking up into his face again. "I can't be honest with you about what it is, but I will tell you that I _am_ sorry. You were right, and I won't pretend anymore than I'm fooling you. The truth is I don't want to fool you anymore-I don't want to be the one who fools you; I don't want to be "Klaus' distraction". I'm keeping something from you, and I'm sorry."

Klaus took in her words, but his face remained stoic. "What is stopping me from compelling it out of you?"

She didn't hesitate, "You wouldn't." She didn't say it with any sort of snark. It came out honest and quiet like she was just stating a truth.

Klaus took a step towards her with a look of determination on his face and brought his hands up to rest on her cheeks and neck. He stared into her eyes holding her head in place. Caroline didn't move. Her brain humming, 'He won't.' He waited for a moment to watch her reaction. She didn't flinch, didn't move away, didn't _look _away.

Klaus gave a loud sigh and let his forehead fall down onto hers. 'Bloody hell . . . she trusts me not to.' He let his hands fall down to his sides, and he looked at her feeling exhilarated and defeated all at once.

Caroline felt an overwhelming sense that Klaus had just performed a great gesture. Tipping up on her toes a bit, she closed her eyes and brought her lips to Klaus' cheek barely missing the corner of his mouth. His eyes fluttered shut as he leaned into her. Parting from him slowly, she whispered, "Thank you." She walked timidly towards her door. "G'night, Klaus."

"Goodnight, Caroline," he breathed as he watched her enter her room and close the door behind her.

Caroline took a few steps into the room surveying the empty space before her. She had been sure that as soon as the door shut she would crumple into a puddle on the floor, but her body stayed whole and the tears didn't fall. Walking over to the dresser she wiped off her makeup with a sheet of remover. She stepped out of her shoes and unzipped her dress and let it fall to the floor. Sliding open a drawer she pulled out an oversized T-shirt and threw it over her head. She checked her phone for any messages while walking over to the bed. Plopping down on the mattress, Caroline briefly admired the branches on the wall that curled over the night stand. She set her phone down and plugged it in before pushing herself up against the headboard. Inhaling deeply, she thought, 'Tyler is cheating on me.' For a moment, she waited for the watering in her eyes to begin. Nothing. Caroline's mind drifted back to the last conversation her and Tyler had had before he left Mystic Falls.

_"This isn't goodbye. It's until we find a way. We're immortal, remember? We will find a way." Tyler said reassuringly never taking his eyes from her._

_Caroline felt broken. A sharp realistic thought hit her, "What if we don't?" Her head spun towards him, and she desperately gaped at him. "Tell me that you'll never think of me again. Tell me that you'll forget about me. Tell me that you are going to go and live a full and happy life without me," Caroline tears were welling up and her voice cracked._

_Tyler stared at her for a moment understanding what she wanted. Taking a breath, he said, "I will live a happy life without you. I will forget all about you, and I will never ever think about you again." Seeing the hurt on her face, Tyler put his arm around her and pulled her close to him, kissing her._

_It felt like a kiss goodbye to her. It was as if her body knew it was their last. Separating from him, she looked up into his eyes. "Until we find a way?" _

_He nodded._

Caroline took a deep breath and let the air fall out of her. Reaching over to the night stand, she grabbed her phone. She slid her thumb across the screen several times as she made her way into her photo gallery. There, in the top corner, was the folder she was looking for. The folder named, "Me and Ty." The dimmed number 29 sat underneath the title indicating the number of pictures within the folder. The icon was her favorite picture that she had of them. She had always thought that a picture of her grinning in her red cheerleading uniform riding on his back just after he had won his football game, happiness and contentment smeared across his features, would be somehow sweet and nostalgic for them many years down the line.

"Right." Caroline mumbled sarcastically. ' . . . many years down the line . . . '

Caroline pressed and held the folder icon until a box popped up on the screen.

_DELETE _

_1 item will be deleted_

_Cancel / Yes_

Her thumb hovered above the button labeled, "Cancel". Caroline finally felt the spill of a tear onto her cheek. She shut her eyes tightly and shook her head. When her eyes popped back open, it was with a look of surety and acceptance.

_Yes_

She calmly, maybe even too calmly considering, placed her phone on the night stand. She lifted herself up to pull the blankets out from underneath her. Settling in Caroline took a deep breath and let the remaining water drain from the corners of her eyes. "Yay for closure," she said numbly to the room before letting her eyes slowly close.

* * *

"Wake up, Caroline," he said soothingly_. _

'Wait, what?!'Caroline's eyes shot open to reveal Klaus bent on a knee at the side of her bed. Surprised and flustered, she sat up quickly. "What are you-how long have you been there?"

Klaus smiled. "Not long." He looked at her curiously. She seemed very on edge for someone who just woke up. 'I wonder what she was dreaming about.' Klaus took a minute to look her up and down and wish he had taken a peak into her head before waking her. "Get up, Sweetheart. We are going on a little trip."

Caroline moved her messy, rogue curls out of her face and stared at him with wide, yet sleepy eyes. "Huh?"

"Rebekah and Elijah have left on their little excursion, so I made plans for us." Klaus stood up, "Come on then." The look of sleepiness and annoyance on her face was priceless, and she looked more than slightly charming with her hair flying everywhere, her eyes a little puffy, and her lips slightly swollen from sleep.

"Where are we going?"

He smiled. "It's a surprise."

"Right," she said drawing out the middle of the word for an extra second to show her hesitation.

Klaus started walking towards the door. He took a moment to look down at the dress that still lie in a little pile on the floor and think about how much he wished he had been the one to drop it there. "Wear good shoes and pants."

Caroline stopped looking for her cell phone and raised an eyebrow at him, "Why?"

Klaus walked through the door, chirped, "It's a surprise," and closed the door behind him.

* * *

They had been speeding along the motorway for a good hour and half now. Klaus hadn't even let her eat breakfast; at least not of the solid variety. He had thrown a blood bag at her as she descended the stairs and opened the front door for her to exit. She had watched the landscape turn from buildings to fields and was gradually getting more and more curious as to where he was taking her.

"Are you taking me out to the middle of nowhere to murder and bury me?" She asked peering over at him with a raised eyebrow.

Klaus let out a hearty laugh, "If I wanted to kill you, Love, I wouldn't need to drive two hours to do it. Besides," he looked over at her teasingly, "I didn't bring a shovel."

Her eyes narrowed, but a shadow of a smile glinted in them, "That's reassuring."

"It shouldn't be."

"God, you're creepy," Caroline threw at him with an honestly amused laugh.

Klaus' smile widened, "I try."

"Seriously, where are we going?"

Klaus looked over at her with a mock-surprised expression as he started to pull the car over to the side of the road. Caroline's head shot around wildly as she tried to take in their surroundings. "We're here?"

"Not quite, Love. Come on!" Klaus checked his mirror briefly and hopped out onto the road.

Caroline was confused. Opening her door, she stepped out onto the gravel that made up the shoulder of the motorway. Klaus walked around the hood and joined her by the passenger door. "So?" she asked flinging her arms out to the sides and looking at their surroundings to emphasize that they weren't anywhere special. When he didn't answer, she peeked back over at him. Her eyes caught on something in Klaus' hand. "No."

"Yes."

"Seriously! No."

"Yes," Klaus approached her holding up a long black handkerchief with a devious smile on his face.

"You aren't putting that thing on me," Caroline said crossing her arms over her chest stubbornly. She was about to say more, but suddenly her vision went dark. Her hands shot up to her eyes as she felt a tug and tightening on the back of her head.

"Ugh! Really?!" She was just reaching back to untie the knotted handkerchief when Klaus slapped her hand away.

"Leave it," he commanded grabbing her by the hand and pulling her back to the car. Holding her head to keep it from bonking the car top, he guided her back into her seat.

Caroline could hear him return to the driver's seat. She then listened as he fiddled with the climate control and started the car.

It was about ten minutes later when he once again coasted to a stop.

"Stay here," he said. She barely heard the door click, let alone open and close, as he left. Caroline couldn't help but listen to her surroundings. She could hear rustling and a vague stomping but that was all. Klaus returned relatively quick and, after opening the passenger door, in one scoop hoisted Caroline out. She then felt a swift tug in her equilibrium as Klaus sped somewhere. She had a vague notion that they were moving uphill.

When Klaus stopped, he set her down gently on what Caroline guessed was grass. She could feel him standing just behind her. He spoke quietly into her hair while untying the knot in the handkerchief, "Originally I thought I'd show you London, but with you taking the last two days to explore on your own, I decided on something less predictable." Klaus let the strip of black fabric fall to the ground.

Caroline's eyes drifted to a small picnic a few yards off. It was settled on top of a small hill with a tree nestled above it casting shade down on the blanket. 'Huh. Not as grand as I would have thought.' She looked at Klaus curiously. He peered at her patiently, motioned with his head for her to move up the hill to the blanket, and flicked at his ear as if suggesting she should listen for something. As she stepped forward towards the blanket shifting her attention to her ears, sounds became clearer. The rustling of _hay_; the stomping of . . . Caroline gasped. '_Horses!'_

She ran to the peak of the hill until she was almost standing on the picnic blanket. Down at the base of the hill in a small valley stood a large, expansive horse ranch. Caroline's mouth spread in a wide grin as she explored the grounds with her eyes. There were several large pastures for rotating the horses, and a few smaller ones, along the perimeter of the property. Each pasture had a small enclosure for shade and hay. The two barns she spotted were a quintessential deep red, and a large, white, three level home sat near the middle. Off to the side was a large building Caroline couldn't identify with a parking area next to it. Just below them at the base of the hill was one of the smaller pastures that Caroline was thrilled to see hosted a few mares and fresh foals hopping around on awkward legs.

Klaus smiled to himself as he watched her take in everything below her. He knew she would enjoy this more than a museum. Sure, there were many horse ranches in the states, but he didn't know how long this stint of her being kind to him would last. She had expected him to take her to museum; he knew that, so naturally he decided against it. Walking up beside her, he bumped her shoulder slightly.

"Worth the drive?" He asked looking out over the grounds.

Caroline took a deep breath and sighed, "Definitely." Her eyes then popped wider, and her head shot over to him still holding on to a bright smile, "Can I ride one?"

Klaus smiled lightly, peeked at her through the corner of his eyes, and said nonchalantly, "It's been arranged."

Caroline was so excited, she jumped up and down like a happy child with her hands clasped in front of her.

"Have you ever ridden a horse before?"

Caroline stopped her wiggling and turned towards him. She looked like a bomb ready to go off. Her eyes sparkled in anticipation. She yipped, "Nope!"

Klaus lifted an eyebrow, "You live in Virginia."

"I know, but none of my friends had horses. I mean I sat on a horse at the fair once when I was really little, but that doesn't count." She took another breath to steady herself and let her arms fall to her sides. "When?"

Klaus waved his hand toward the blanket, "Lunch first. You must be hungry."

Caroline looked back over at the picnic, then back to the pastures, then back to the picnic, and then over at Klaus. She still radiated excitement. "I guess I could eat."

* * *

**So, FYI the next chapter should be up before Tuesday morning. =)**

**Please review! Your reviews keep me motivated. I know many of you are wanting more heated romance; be patient with me. It's coming I promise.**

**SLIGHT SPOILER For 04X16:**

**_On a side note:_ Who also threw up in their mouths at last night's episode? Gross. Not only was that NOT the character I wanted to see Klaus gettin' freaky with, but the camera angles there at the end were super awkward. Excuse me, I'm gonna go cry in the corner now along with every other Klaroline fan.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you so much for your reviews, follows, and favorites! You guys rock my world!**

**I hope this chapter doesn't have too many errors. I kinda pulled an all nighter to churn it out and get it posted by today. It was my birthday yesterday, and I feel like the whole weekend was busy because of it. PM if you notice something that I should edit. I was pretty sleep deprived. =) **

**Those of you out there that wanted a little Klaroline action will get a little sexy taster in this chapter. **

* * *

"You must be very proud of yourself for arranging all of this." Caroline sat cross legged holding up a champagne flute. She tried to look offended, but only really succeeded in narrowing her smile a bit. Klaus peered over at her as he leaned back on his elbows semi-reclined. He didn't respond but merely smirked over at her .

The day was gorgeous. The sun was bright but a cool wind drifted around them lightly. The picnic was spread haphazardly around the blanket; The space between them sporting an aromatic loaf of bread, a cutting board loaded with an assortment of cheeses and meats, a ceramic serving plate with various fruits, and multiple bottles of champagne. Caroline had laughed that there seemed to have been more champagne than food in the basket.

Caroline's gaze drifted back out to the pastures. "Why did you bring me here? Don't get me wrong. I'm very glad you did. But, I was so sure you were going to show me London."

Klaus' smirk widened, and he let himself fall back onto his shoulders facing the sky. "I didn't want to share you today."

Caroline laughed briefly at the hidden meaning in his words, "Not today, huh? What's special about today?"

His eyes flashed over to her, and he regarded her seriously for few seconds. She thought she saw some sort of secret tucked in behind his eyes, but his face quickly became unreadable. He flashed a little smile, "I'll take what I can get, Love."

"Yeah. That's kind of your thing," Caroline mumbled accusingly to herself taking a long sip of her champagne.

His face brightened as he rolled his head over to more comfortably look over at her. "That's the spirit!"

"What?" Caroline picked up a small strawberry and threw it in her mouth.

"You've been a perfectly congenial the last two days. It's abnormal. It's almost as if you are letting me get under your skin," Klaus raised his eyebrows at her a few times playfully.

Caroline huffed half with indignation and half with humor at his act of silliness. "Thanks for reminding me of myself. I really shouldn't be conversing with the _enemy_."

Klaus rolled toward her onto his side. "Conversing or fraternizing?"

Caroline raised an eyebrow as she looked down at him. "Don't push it." Her smile crept back, and, grabbing a handful of grass from the ground beside her, she threw the long, thin blades at him.

"Hey!" He brushed the grass from his shirt, and in retaliation he tossed a grape at her. The grape hit her square in the middle of her forehead, and he burst into a fit of laughter.

"You'll pay for that." Caroline let herself laugh joyfully for a moment. 'Am I having fun with Klaus?' The laughter died down slightly and an awkward, intimate stare formed between them. Klaus was just about to sit up and inch closer to her when she spoke, "Do you enjoy being the bad guy?"

The question surprised him though he didn't show it. "There is something to be said for being the bad guy."

"Like what?" Caroline was genuinely curious. Twisting herself to the side, she lied down beside him, her stomach cooled by the ground below it. She would have been wary, but the long loaf of bread still rested between them acting, at least Caroline thought, as a barrier.

The moment she lied next to him, it was as if every sense he had focused on her. The floral scent of her, the specks of sun in her curls, and the small amount of skin that showed near the bottom rim of her shirt made him feel as if his body was being magnetically pulled to hers. Though he held his ground, he couldn't stop his eyes from briefly lingering on that small bit of flesh. He could almost remember what it felt like to touch her, but not nearly enough for him to be satisfied.

Klaus returned his eyes to her and snapped his brain back to her question. "Being the bad guy comes with the generally accepted idea that you don't care about those around you. The bad guy isn't trusted to act morally. It creates fear. When people fear you, well, it's very easy to get the things you want."

Caroline's face remained calm and attentive. "Generally accepted?"

"Yes, and it's true. Because I don't care, I'm able to get things done."

"Bullshit."

Klaus' eyes narrowed infinitesimally. He examined her face but saw only a spark of provocation. "Dare I ask?"

"You aren't describing someone who's bad. You are describing someone who's neutral. If you didn't care, you wouldn't lash out. If you didn't care, you wouldn't bother with half of your schemes." Klaus' eyes bored into hers, and she returned his gaze with determination. "So, answer the question. What is so great about being the_ bad_ guy? I know the cons, they're written all over you, but what's_ in it_ for you?"

Klaus' jaw tensed. Grabbing his champagne flute he downed all of the golden liquid in a single gulp. His voice was agitated, "I get the satisfaction of knowing that I have the power. I have the control. I'm the one that fires the first round. I am the offense to their defensive scrambling," Klaus voice lightened as his fingers flitted in the air imitating said scrambling and a prideful smirk perked on his lips. "_I_ hold that power."

Caroline watched him for a moment, and it was if her ears had only picked up a few important pieces of information in his little speech. "You aren't the victim."

Klaus' eyes turned to ice, and his body went rigid. Caroline could see all of this happen in front of her and knew she had hit a cord.

Her voice was light and her face soft. "You like the power because it means you aren't the victim in all of it. When you're bad, others fear you, not the other way around."

He blew out an annoyed breath. "Are we done analyzing, Love? This is getting tiresome." Klaus turned his body to face the sky once again disengaging from their conversation.

It didn't stop Caroline from asking, "Were you always the bad guy? I have a hard time believing that someone with such love for beautiful things would have started out so jaded."

His faced calmed. "No. As a human I was kind. I was selfless." Klaus looked over at her and noticed a confused wrinkle between her brows. "Is it so hard to believe?"

She looked down at the glass clutched in her hands in front of her, the bubbles in the champagne still vigorously gliding towards the surface. "You don't make it easy to believe it. Is that the real reason why you wouldn't want to be human again?" Once again, Klaus looked up to the sky not answering.

Not thinking too much about it, Caroline scooted towards him a little. Reaching over she put her fingers around his chin and pulled his face back to look at her. Reveling in the contact, he let his head be turned. "I'm trying. How many times have you asked me to get to know you?"

Klaus' eyes softened as he let them flick back and forth between hers. She went to pull her hand away, but he caught it with his own holding it against his cheek. "Yes. As a human, I was a victim. I was strong and skilled but that didn't matter. It didn't stop him from reminding me every day that I was weak and easily downed. As a man, I wasn't completely helpless, but, yes, I was a victim." Klaus' eyes shined with the water that clung to them. "As a vampire, as a hybrid, I will never feel like that again. Were I to be made human, I would immediately find the nearest vampire to turn me back. Assuming it's even possible. If I were cured, I suppose I would just be a wolf again."

Caroline could see the hint of fear behind his words. She spoke barely above a whisper, "I would turn you back." He smiled with a confused expression. He opened his mouth to say something, but she spoke first pulling her hand back from his face letting her fingertips graze over his stubble. "With the understanding that you only drink from blood bags and animals," she put diplomatically with a teasing smile.

Klaus cringed, "I choose death." Caroline laughed loudly. She didn't laugh from her throat but deep from her diaphragm. She laughed with her whole body. He loved how she laughed. He smiled with her but was too entranced by her to really join in. "Caroline?"

"Yeah," She asked remnants of laughter still audible in her voice.

"Why horses?"

Caroline sat up and turned to ogle the horses below in the pastures for a moment. Her legs crossed beneath her again. "They're strong, beautiful, and regal. What is there to dislike?" She turned back to him with a shrug.

He sat up smoothly and turned his body towards her. He tilted his head to the side.

"What?" She asked not understanding his inquisitive glance.

Smiling to himself he reached forward and put one hand on each of her thighs gently but firmly. When his hands tightened above her knees, Caroline took in a breath and felt her heart skip around. She was surprised when he slowly pulled her forward until their knees touched between them, and the barrier separating them ceased to exist. "Now, tell me the real reason."

Thrown off, she breathed out a short laugh. Her eyes slid back to the horses and settled on a dappled stallion standing pert and attentive. "It's the running. It must feel so liberating to be able to run like that. To be that carefree and unleashed. . . it must be . . ." Caroline's eyes became slightly distant as her words trailed off.

Klaus watched her hypnotized remembering that the crystal mustang that hung from her car's rearview mirror wasn't just standing; It had been running. "Would you like to find out?"

Caroline's eyes shot over to him and once again sparkled with excitement. A large grin spread its way across her mouth.

* * *

The horse beneath her felt fluid and solid all at once. Klaus had chosen a chestnut gelding named Marco for her that seemed very at ease and attentive to her experimental pulls on his reins. Klaus had explained the basics to her but still watched her and occasionally gave her reminders as he rode beside her on a tall black stallion named Alistair. They had taken a trail between two of the surrounding hills in what looked like a dried up ravine, and she had been slowly learning the motion of the horse during the last half hour. She giggled nervously as she bounced awkwardly around on Marco's back as he trotted.

"Is it just me or is trotting really uncomfortable? Does it get more uncomfortable the faster you go?"

Klaus laughed a little. "No, trotting takes practice. Try not to grip with your legs so much and avoid leaning forward."

Caroline tried to alter her seat, but it wasn't working. Looking over at Klaus, she huffed.

"What is it, Sweetheart? Flustered already?"

Caroline smiled in defeat. "_You_ are it. You look so natural on a horse. I feel like I'm going down stairs on a bike."

Klaus' chuckle was louder this time. "I have had many years to practice." Just as Klaus was speaking they exited the ravine and entered into a large empty field with knee height, green grass. Caroline was sure she could see for several miles to the other side of the large valley. "Are you ready to try a canter?"

She nodded enthusiastically. While still in the trot, Klaus gave a squeeze to Alistair and Alistair started off in a canter. Caroline followed his lead and gave Marco a little nudge with her legs. As if given the permission he wanted, Marco took off after Alistair.

The canter was more natural for Caroline and the increased speed made it easy for her to pace her movements with Marco's. Feeling more confident, Caroline giggled and urged Marco on to gain a bit more speed but not so much that he needed to change his gait. Klaus turned as she came up beside him all blonde curls and smiles.

"Faster," She commanded. Had she still been human, she would have taken it slow, but she was hardly worried about falling off the horse and seriously hurting herself. Breaking her neck or back was hardly life threatening to her.

"You sure?"

"Yes!"

Grinning Klaus nodded and cued Alistair into a slow gallop. He had hoped to slowly increase their speed, but when Caroline and Marco went barreling past in a racing gallop he shook his head and pressed to catch up. It didn't take Alistair long to come even and match pace with Marco.

Caroline looked glorious. Her hair flowed out behind her. Klaus had expected her to sport wide eyes and be laughing, but she was something else completely. The corners of her mouth were slightly lifted in a peaceful smile and her blue eyes blazed with calm determination. He could feel Alistair beneath him speeding up competitively and knew Caroline was pushing Marco to his maximum. His eyes wouldn't leave her. Just as he thought the image of her couldn't become more poignant or majestic, her eyes drifted shut and her chin lifted slightly as if she was shutting down all of her senses save the sensation of the horse beneath her and the cool wind on her. His eyes soaked every inch of her in hoping to never forget the vision of gold and brown in front of him.

They continued on this way for another minute or two before Caroline slowed Marco to a walk. Klaus slowed beside her. Caroline's eyes were the brightest he had ever seen them and watering slightly. Her curls were wild around her face, and her breath was labored from the excitement.

"That was _amazing_!"

* * *

Caroline and Klaus had just finished putting Marco in his stall. Caroline stood on the opposite side of the mesh fencing while Marco was enjoying her goodbye cuddles and scratches from over the top. Klaus had slowly walked her through removing Marco's tack and watering him before they had closed him into his stall. Klaus had already put away Alistair.

"I need to go speak with the owner for a moment. You stay; I'll be back." Klaus walked away with a small smile noticing that she barely looked away from Marco as he had spoken to her and barely hummed an affirmative to him as he turned to leave.

Caroline was beyond content to just stare at Marco for the rest of the day. She already held so much love for the horse that took her on her first run. She marveled at how the day had turned into one of the best she had had in a very long time. Marco was just turning to go nibble at the hay on the rack when she heard another horse off to her left. The noise was merely a loud exhale, but the sound was enough to turn her in the horse's direction. There, poking his head out over the fence, was the most beautiful gray stallion Caroline had ever seen. The horse had its ears perked toward her and eyes locked in her direction.

"Hello," Caroline said walking toward the stallion's large stall. As she came closer, he backed up slightly. Slowing to a creep, she reached the fence. He seemed wary of her. Looking down to the side of the stall, she saw a metallic bucket. Flipping it upside down, she stood up on the bucket so that she was a similar height to the horse.

The stallions head was held high as he continued to stare at her from the back corner of the stall.

"Good boy. Come here. I won't hurt you."

The stallion snorted at her, the sound vibrating in his nostrils. He didn't know what to think of Caroline.

* * *

Klaus was just walking up to the barn door when he heard it, a lovely melody coming from inside. 'Caroline . . . ?' Peeking around the door, he spotted her standing on an upside down bucket smiling gently into a stall. Her voice rang through the barn stalling him in his place.

"—_High as a mountain, deep a river_

_Come rain or come shine_

_And I guess when you met me_

_It was just one of those things_

_But don't ever bet me_

_'Cause I'm gonna be true_

_If you let me, let me_

Klaus listened intently. He had had no idea that Caroline could sing so beautifully. As he watched her, her grin became wider, and he started to see the muzzle of the horse she sang to approach her timidly.

_You're always gonna love me_

_Like nobody's loved me_

_Come rain or come shine_

_Happy together, unhappy together_

_And won't it be fine?_

His eyes drifted closed. He scooted over to the outside of the barn and let his body slide down the wall until he sat on the ground. The inflection of her voice and the strong notes echoed within his head as he continued to listen.

_Days may be cloudy or sunny_

_We're in or we're out of the money_

_But I'm with you always_

_I'm with you, rain or shine_

'I'm in a lot of trouble," he thought to himself as he felt his chest tighten.

* * *

_Days may be cloudy or sunny_

_We're in or we're out of the money_

_But I'm with you always_

_I'm with you, rain or shine_

_Rain or –"_

Caroline stopped singing as the stallion softly nickered and threw his face into her chest. Bringing her hands up to either cheek she hugged him into her. She cuddled and pet him like this for several minutes. She was just rubbing her hand along his forehead when his head pulled to the side and he exhaled again, this time his front hoof stomping on the ground. Caroline turned her head to see what had him so upset. Klaus stood not five feet away staring up at the horse.

"Sorry, Mate. I've already called dibs on that one."

Klaus and the stallion held each others' gaze for a long moment before the stallion looked away and meandered over to its waterer. Caroline stepped down from the bucket and watched the stallion move about.

"I _just_ got him to come to me," she pouted.

Klaus picked up the bucket and righted it, putting it back off to the side. After he turned back to her, he leaned his shoulder up against the fence. "Your voice is lovely, Caroline."

Her eyes shot over to him. 'He heard me?!' His calm, admiring expression made her blush a deep red. Her gaze jumped back to the stall.

The color in her cheeks only increased her beauty in his eyes, and at this point, Klaus was dying to touch her. He stepped up to her side slightly behind her as she tried to hide her face within the curtain of her hair. She could feel him lean into her curls and the warmth emanating from his skin. It was intoxicating. His proximity alone made her breath hitch.

"You are so stunning, it almost hurts to be near you," he uttered, his voice growing husky towards the end.

Caroline let out the breath she didn't know she was holding, and her body seemed to melt into a relaxed state as her eyelids fluttered shut. Trying to resist turning into him she turned her head in the opposite direction. Following her shift, he slid a step over, so he stood just behind her. Her body went pleasantly rigid at the slight pressure of his chest on her back. She followed his movements as he lifted his left hand to her right shoulder, slowly grazing his fingers across the thin fabric of the shirt on her back, and pulled her hair back and over to the side. She shivered slightly as his breath touched her hairline just below her ear.

He moved slowly to give Caroline time to stop him if he overstepped. She didn't step away or push him away, so he settled up to her a little more. He inhaled deeply as he nuzzled his way into her hair; the smell of coconut invaded his senses, and he let out a small sound of approval. The sound sent a wave of pleasure coursing through Caroline; a wave that nestled deep within her belly. She felt her skin grow warm and flushed. Her lips parted when suddenly she needed more air. 'I should stop this,' she thought noncommittally to herself as her body sank back to rest up against his.

His nuzzling had made its way to her neck, and she could feel his warm lips graze her skin. Caroline felt the ache build within her, and she wantonly pressed her hips back towards his. At the motion, Klaus let out a whispered whimper and grabbed her hips pulling her into him harder.

Caroline sighed out a light moan. The voice in her head telling her to stop was nothing but annoying white noise now.

Hearing her soft noises, Klaus dipped his head down laying his first tender kiss into the curve of her neck below her jaw. Caroline felt as if she were on fire. Wanting to be closer she reached down with one hand to grip the outside seam of his pants trying to pull him even tighter against her and reached with her other hand up over her shoulder to grasp the side of his neck. She let her head fall to the side to give him better access. He worked his way slowly up to her jaw, his breath spilling over her skin as he tried to control it. When his lips finally reached her ear, he let them glide up over the top before falling to her earlobe. Bringing it into his mouth, he sucked and nibbled at it.

Caroline tried to keep her back to him in attempt to maintain a semblance of control, but the second she felt his tongue on her skin her knees wobbled and heat gathered between her legs. Reaching across her stomach she grabbed the hand that he had rested on her hip and spun him around by it, so he now stood in front of her. Stepping forward, she backed him up the two paces until his shoulders hit the stall siding.

Caroline took a second to take in the man before her. His chest rose and fell with his breath. His dark lips were parted, and his eyes were slightly glazed with lust. As she stood there not moving forward, Klaus' eyes jumped down to stare at her mouth, and, as if he was being pulled to her, his lips came softly but surely down on hers. His body still leaning against the fence, he didn't pull her to him just yet, and he didn't linger too long on the kiss. Parting slightly his eyes flicked up to hers. When her eyelids lazily lifted, they gazed at each other for a brief moment.

Klaus' eyes were just starting to close again, and his face was slowly returning to hers when she crashed her lips into his. His arms immediately wrapped around her waist and pulled her to him tightly, slightly lifting her from the ground. Her hands crawled up his arms slowly and wound themselves around his neck; one curling itself into his hair. In between kisses, she released tiny whimpers.

Caroline pulled his lip into her mouth catching it lightly with her teeth and running her tongue along it. A deep sound erupted from within Klaus' chest as he opened his mouth against hers in response, letting his tongue taste her freely.

He let his hand roam down from her waist. It slowly caressed a path down her to her lower back. Caroline almost cried out when his hand moved firmly over her ass and grasped it firmly. Klaus hummed against her mouth pleased with her reaction. Gripping behind her thigh he pulled it up to his hip spinning them around, so now she was pressed against the fence. Once he had her there he let out a soft growl as he attacked her neck with open mouth kisses.

"Uh, guys?"

Caroline's eyes shot open and she pushed away from Klaus slightly to look toward the voice. A young teenage boy stood a few yards away wide eyed and red faced. Shaking themselves Caroline and Klaus stood back from each other. Her eyes barely left the floor she was so embarrassed, but he looked ready to pounce on the poor kid. Klaus took a step towards the boy menacingly, but before he could do anything, Caroline grabbed his hand and yanked him toward the door. At first, he resisted, but it took only a moment for her to tug him out of the barn.

* * *

**Phew! This was a hard chapter to write. Not only do I know very little about horses (trust me, I'm kicking myself for the decision to send them to a horse ranch), but the dialogue in the beginning was killing me. Some writers can rock dialogue, I struggle. I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. =)**

**Please review and let me know what you think about what's happening! I'm always interested to know if you think the pacing is right, and if the sexy stuff is up to par.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Wow, guys, I am so sorry this took so long. I'm trying to get caught up on my work, and it's really been a time suck. Not to mention that I had to really plan out the next few chapters to make sure that everything is set for the showdown with Katherine. Please forgive my tardiness! This last time lapse was awful of me, I know.  
**

**Also, THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who goes out of their way to review! Your reviews are gold, and I really really really love reading them!**

* * *

Caroline leaned her head against the cool window and watched the scenery pass her by as they made their way back to the city. They had been on the road for a while now. 'What did I just do?'

After leaving the barn, Caroline had dropped Klaus' hand and quickly made her way to the car. As soon as her jeans hit the passenger seat, she had reached into her bag and pulled out a set of earbuds and her cell phone. By the time Klaus made his way into the driver's seat, Caroline had already curled herself up against the door with music blaring in her ears as if she wanted to be as far away from him as possible.

'What was I thinking?' Sighing, she closed her eyes hoping that when she opened them, the awkward drive would just be over. 'Only a half an hour left, and I can lock myself in my room.'

Klaus was beyond annoyed. The kiss had been beyond his expectations. From the moment that her lips had pressed against his it was as if there was nothing else. No stable, no cure, no Silas, no Katerina, no Tyler. It was just the feel of her breath on his face, the smell of her skin, and the tingling sensation of her hands in his hair. But now? Now she was avoiding him as if he were a leper.

He reached over and yanked on the cords that fell across her chest, effectively pulling the earbuds from her ears.

Caroline jumped slightly at the sudden gesture. She scoffed, offended. "Rude much?"

"Are we going to talk about it?" He asked over his shoulder with a small smile trying to appear casual and unaffected.

"No. We're not," she spat knowing he wasn't referring to his yanking off her headphones.

"Why?"

Caroline threw her hands up in exasperation. "Because it shouldn't have happened, Klaus!"

Klaus' eyebrows came together, and he nodded slightly. "Yes, it should have."

"Yeah, well, I disagree." She fell back into her seat and crossed her arms over her chest. Her voice lowered in seriousness, "I can't believe I fell for it."

Klaus' eyes widened incredulously at her implication that what had happened between them had been a result of his manipulation. Well, other than the obvious and harmless trying-to-get-a-girl-to-kiss-you manipulation. His voice rang louder than before, "Do tell, Caroline. Because I'm at a loss."

"You take me there! Picturesque picnic. The horses. The smiles. And, I fell for it." Caroline shook her head as if reprimanding herself.

Klaus smirked but there was no real humor behind the expression. "You baffle me. Is it really so hard for you to just admit that you had a good time with me today?"

"Yes! You're a mass murderer! Is it really so hard for you to understand why I can't do this with you?!"

His voice vibrated low from inside his chest as he struggled to keep it calm, "I'll admit, I have done some awful things. But, I _never_ meant to hurt you."

Caroline spun in her seat to face him, her voice nearly a screech. "Whether you _meant_ to or not, you hurt me every time you raised a hand to the people I care about." She exhaled a sharp breath. "What kind of person would I be if I let this happen—If I fell for the walking red flag? What would that make me?"

There was a pause while Klaus glanced over into her eyes. He dwelled on her words, ' . . . fell for . . . ' His response was brief but said with utmost sincerity, "Brave."

"A traitor!" She yelled. "Wh-What are you doing?"

Klaus pulled the car to the side of the road. His eyes were shining as he stepped out. Briskly walking to her door, he flung it open. His eyes widened and his arms shot out to either side in a challenge for her to properly participate the conversation. Huffing, Caroline removed her seatbelt and threw herself out of the car to join him roadside.

As soon as her feet hit the shoulder of the road, Klaus took a few steps toward her and almost hissed his words at her, "This isn't about you and me. This is about your friends in Mystic Falls. You said so last night: You don't hate me."

"I was drunk," she countered, her chin shooting up in a fit of stubbornness.

He gave a sideways smirk. "Hardly. What's you next excuse?" After a pause, Klaus laughed sardonically taking one more step towards her. "It surprises me that someone who can so easily see through my _'bullshit'_ is completely blind to her own. You run from me not because you don't want me, but because you do. It _terrifies_ you, Caroline. You have two very strong character traits. You are strong willed, and you are loyal. You want to know what we could be, but you won't let yourself find out because you are petrified that your friends will take it as a betrayal. Tell me, Love: Do they plan their lives around your opinions too?" Caroline opened her mouth to speak, but he didn't give her the chance. "Did Elena stay away from Damon because she was afraid of what you would think?" Her mouth slammed shut. He waited a moment before accepting that she wasn't going to answer. "Get in the car."

* * *

She had nearly jumped out of the vehicle while it was still moving when they found themselves back at the flat. Not waiting for him, she climbed the few steps to the front door and walked in like she owned the place. She hadn't thought that Rebekah and Elijah would be back so was surprised when she was greeted with Elijah's form standing in the foyer. For a moment, when she entered, Caroline thought she was feeling dizzy. The room seemed to move in a strange way. It reminded Caroline of the times she had been sitting in a parked car waiting for her mom to pop into the store while she waited. That moment when the car next to hers would start to move, but her brain didn't see it as the other car moving but instead the one she was in rolling all on its own. It was disorienting and seemed to be focused on Elijah as he stood just in front of the console table. Elijah was taken aback by her sudden bursting into the flat. He cleared his throat and placed a kindly smile on his face. "Caroline. Did you enjoy your outing with my brother?"

She tried to shake off the weird shift she thought she saw in the room. Looking up at Elijah, she frowned. "Define enjoy."

Elijah's mouth quirked in a knowing smile. Changing the subject, he said, "How was your ride?"

Caroline couldn't stop the wide grin that slowly crept across her face as she remembered the feel of a running horse beneath her. "Great."

"Good."

Klaus came up behind Caroline and unceremoniously pushed passed her. He smiled at his brother ignoring her angered pout. "Elijah. How was your day with 'Bekah?"

Elijah splashed a dramatic look of exhaustion across his features. "She had many opinions regarding the changes we've made over the last ninety years."

With a little chuckle, Klaus put his hand on Elijah's shoulder and splashed a look of sympathy across his face in exaggerated comfort. "I'm so terribly sorry, Brother. If there is anything 'Bekah has in abundance, it's opinions."

"I heard that!" Rebekah's voice rang from upstairs. Elijah and Klaus smiled to each other. Nodding his head to Caroline, the eldest brother walked towards the kitchen.

Caroline looked everywhere but at Klaus. She knew he was there. She could see him in her peripheral and hear his slow, controlled breathing. 'Ugh! Stop staring, Creeper!' She was just taking the first few stairs to the second floor when Elijah returned to the foyer.

"Dinner is ready."

She stopped and sighed. "Fantastic." Turning herself around she receded back down the stairs and just about stomped into the dining room.

* * *

"Bekah, have you made contact with Victoria?" Klaus asked before sipping on his large glass of red wine. They had spent the first few minutes of dinner in uncomfortable silence. Caroline suspected that she had "Don't Bother Talking To Me" written across her forehead, and it was causing tension. She didn't fret about it though instead deciding to immerse herself in the fanciest shepherd's pie she had ever eaten.

"Yes. I leave after dinner and should return by mid-morning well before Katherine meets with June." Rebekah responded. Her eyes seemed to examine Klaus' face carefully as if she were playing poker and watching for tells.

"Excellent."

Caroline's curiosity had been peaked. What with the next day being Kill Katherine and Get the Cure Day, she couldn't help herself but be interested in the details. "What's happening?"

Elijah answered her with a straight forward expression."Rebekah has an old contact with information that would be beneficial for us to have for our confrontation with Katerina. She's been able to broker an exchange. She's traveling north tonight. You are welcome to join her if you wish."

"Old contact?" She asked with a lifted eyebrow peering over at Rebekah.

She shook her head swallowing a bite of her food. "Not of mine. Nik's, actually."

"Then why are you brokering it?"

"Victoria doesn't like me," Klaus chimed in looking bitter.

Caroline's eyes met with his, and she gave a snarky grin. "She sounds like a smart lady."

Rebekah laughed into her wine glass. "What did you do this time, Nik?"

He ignored her and shifted his eyes back to Elijah. "Have all preparations been made for tomorrow?"

"All is in place. Once Katerina hands over the cure to June, we will move against her and her companions."

"Have your men reported any additional support rallying to her?"

"Not as of yet." Their back and forth made Caroline feel as if she were at a military briefing. It only took a minute for her to realize that they had probably conducted many a war briefing. There had been many moments like this in the last few days. Moments when she realized how young she really was in comparison to them.

Rebekah jumped between their Q&A, "May I just reiterate that I will be happy when that doppelganger slag gets staked."

Klaus gave a small chuckle and Elijah closed his eyes as if her words _literally_ hurt him, "Rebekah, is that language necessary at the dinner table?"

"I'm certainly ready to never hear her name again," Caroline said taking a bite off of her fork.

Rebekah's eyes smiled and narrowed. "Why do _you_ hate Katherine so much?"

Dryly, Caroline responded, "I try to hate everyone who kills me. You know, out of principle."

"Katerina was the one to turn you?" Elijah asked curiously, taking his wine glass in hand.

"Well, it was Damon's blood that turned me, but, yeah, she's the one that decided to smother me with a pillow."

"Bitch!" Rebekah exclaimed.

She smirked to Rebekah. "Yeah. Let's just say I'm not in her fan club. I don't say this lightly: I will be happy to learn when Katherine Pierce is out of everyone's hair for good."

Rebekah gave a fervent nod. "Me too. You should tag along with us tomorrow. I'll make popcorn, and we can just revel in it as she gets what's coming."

"Rebekah, you seem to be under the impression that we intend on killing Katerina," Elijah interjected.

"Am I wrong?"

"Quite. She is a useful asset. We will acquire her when we acquire the cure."

Rebekah's eyes grew twice in size."What?! You_ are_ joking? Has she not done enough? She's just going to keep screwing you over. Will you ever get over your Petrova crushes, Elijah? Really, it's pathetic." Looking like a disappointed child, she leaned back into her chair. She shook her head at Elijah before her eyes flicked to Klaus. "And you? How long are you going to let her humiliate you? You vowed to kill her how many years ago? 500? Don't worry about Tyler, Caroline. He's got at least 499 _safe_ years left."

"Rebekah, silence yourself or I will do it for you," his voice was cold and stern.

"I'm so frightened, Nik. Watch me quiver," Rebekah said in a bored tone pretending to shake in fear.

Klaus payed her no attention and continued on with Elijah, "Back to the matter at hand. We will capture Katherine and deal with her then—"

Caroline seized the moment to ask a relevant question that she had been wondering about since her not so reassuring conversation with Tyler,"Where is this all happening? Your big fight against Katherine?"

Klaus peered over at her again, "Interested in joining, Sweetheart?'

"Maybe." She only held his gaze for a moment before she shifted them to Elijah. "When are _we_ leaving tomorrow?"

Elijah's eyes darted over to Klaus' momentarily before he answered. "Katerina meets with June at noon. We will leave before then."

Caroline saw a small movement at the end of the table and her eyes jumped back to Klaus in time to see him hide a little smile behind his wine glass. 'Interesting,' she thought. "And, why are you waiting?"

"We were able to convince June to give us the details of Katerina's dealings with her. We know that she doesn't leave the cure with June. She arrives with it and leaves with it. The only way to insure we take Katerina while she is in possession of the cure is to do it at a time she is expecting to meet with June," Elijah explained.

"And you suspect that Katherine won't come alone?"

"We suspect that Katerina has caught wind of us somehow and will come prepared in case we show up. We have no doubt that she will bring along her two companions"

"How has she caught wind?" Caroline's breath caught in her throat.

Klaus spun back to regard her, "She has spies everywhere. It was only a matter of time."

The look in his eyes made her want to squirm. 'He doesn't know, Caroline. Don't be shifty.' Clearing her throat, she guided the conversation in a different direction,"I thought you said she would run the minute she realized you were in town?"

Elijah replied, "Under most circumstances, we believe she would have, but June tells us that tomorrow is the final attempt and the most promising now that she has procured a totem of the original caster. Katerina will not leave London when she is so close to getting what she wants."

"More cure doses." Rebekah commented, a glimmer of hope behind her eyes.

"Yes."

Caroline dug deeper realizing she didn't quite understand why Katherine would want multple doses. "Why does she want more than one? If this is about taking out Klaus, doesn't she only need one?"

"Who says this is about me?" Klaus inquired looking put off.

Caroline shot a sarcastic laugh in his direction. "You're right. I'm jumping to conclusions."

With a barely visible smile, Elijah went on, "I do not believe Katerina would use the cure on Klaus first. I suspect she would want to first target either Rebekah or myself."

"Why?"

"Because she is of Klaus' line. She won't risk curing Klaus if she might also be cured in the process. She'll want to do a test run to be sure."

Caroline nodded to herself picking up on their train of thought, "And if she intends on curing two of you, she might as well get a third cure, so she doesn't have to worry about the odd Mikaelson out chasing her for eternity."

"Indeed. That would follow," Elijah confirmed.

Taking an audible breath, Klaus addressed Caroline with a playful tone, "So what will it be, Love? Will you be going out tonight with 'Bekah or . . . staying in?" He subtly lifted his eyebrows suggestively.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm sure Rebekah doesn't want me tagging along."

Rebekah let out a small sigh and looked thankfully over at her. "See. This is what we call consideration, Boys. Victoria will get suspicious if I show up with a strange baby vampire. No offense."

"None taken," Caroline replied finishing her wine.

* * *

As Caroline made her way up the staircase, she pondered how the following day would unfold. 'How am I going to do this? I don't know where they're meeting, so I have to tag along. If I get there and Tyler isn't there, then it might actually be fun to mess with Katherine. But, what if he_ is_ there? How can I help him defend himself against three originals? God, Tyler, please don't be stupid. Please be halfway across the world by now.'

"Were you just planning to sneak off and not say goodnight?" Klaus' voice being so near startled her out of her thoughts. Gasping, she turned to him with her hand on her chest. Once she saw him, Caroline let out her frightened breath and unleashed a look of utter annoyance in his direction.

"I said goodnight . . . to Rebekah," she snarked before spinning back to grab her door knob.

"Not to me," he said following her movement.

"My bad," she cooed facing him again feigning apologies. Her next sentence came out cheeky and slightly bitter, "Goodnight, Klaus."

"Don't."

The emotion behind his voice made her heart tweak as a twinge of guilt set in. "Don't what?" She asked flashing an impatient expression.

He shook his head at her single-mindedness. He let out a frustrated groan. "You are infuriating." His eyes were slightly bugged out as he was a stone's throw from becoming angry with her.

She stepped into her room. "I try," She spat slamming the door in his face and approaching the dresser.

Klaus could feel his blood grow hot and his jaw tense under his cheeks. Fed up with her attitude, he shoved the door open and strode in. He had anticipated seething words to pour from his mouth, but the sight of her puffed up and indignant at his intrusion made him soften. 'Little bird,' he remembered. He examined her slightly as she stood next to the dresser. Her shirt still slightly messed from the horses and her curls untamed as a result of not being brushed since that morning. Just the sight of her distracted him completely from the fact that her cheeks were red and her posture incensed, and all of his hostility melted. A small, genuine smile lifted his mouth. "_I_ had fun today," he said walking slowly towards her. Her eyebrows came together in confusion. "I know you believe it was some master plan to seduce you, but honestly," he gave a little chuckle, "what second date isn't?"

His reaction had her reeling. She had expected yelling. 'No! Yelling! Yelling is better! I want to yell.' Caroline shook her head and raised her voice, "Today was not a date! Today was nothing. It was—" Klaus took a deliberate step towards her invading her space and cutting off her words.

"No." His eyes jumped back and forth between hers and his tone softened, "I've seen you, Caroline. I've seen you laugh . . . and talk . . . and play, so don't pretend that the time we spend together is nothing."

Caroline struggled to find her voice. His words and the general nearness of him were making her feel warm. When she finally was able to speak, her words came out low and unsure, "Get out."

Klaus stepped a little farther into her provoking her. She could almost feel the heat coming off of him.

She took a step away from him, her voice gaining back it's confidence, "Get out of my room, Klaus."

"Why?" He followed her step. He could hear her heart rate quicken and her breath become slightly labored as he gained proximity.

Her eyes grew in size and her body stiffened as she watched him grow nearer.

"Afraid something might happen?" He waited for her to respond, but her face became more confused as she realized what he was saying. "I wouldn't worry. You see, you just have to say the word, and I'll go." Klaus languidly reached up and scooted her hair off of her shoulder. Crossing his arm to the side of her face, he slowly traced the back of his fingertips from just below her ear down towards her throat. Her posture didn't relax, but her eyes softened. "Say the word, Caroline." His fingers continued along her collarbone, no longer traveling lower but across the top of her chest. He indulged by letting his eyes follow his hand as it caressed her skin. Sliding over the fabric of her shirt his hand made its way down her arm enjoying the softness of her skin. Once he reached the inside of her elbow, his eyes shot back up to hers, burning into her with an overwhelming intensity. Shifting closer to her the final few inches, he moved his other hand around her waist to gently pull her against him. Not knowing why, she allowed him to guide her there. "Tell me you didn't _enjoy_ being with me today." The hand that had traced its way down from her neck to her arm hopped over to her waist to join the other. Not stopping their progress down her body, Klaus moved his hands down and over her hips. "Tell me you don't enjoy this." His hands moved and settled just above her thighs to either side of her body. She silently wished she was shorter, so his hands weren't able to reach so torturously low.

Caroline's eyes drifted shut and looked unsure when the glided open again. "Klaus, I can't . . . " She inhaled sharply as Klaus casually and easily lifted her by her thighs and set her on the dresser behind her. Her hands instinctively shot up to rest on his chest trying and failing to keep space between them. '_Not_ good. Not good.'

Fixing her with his stare, he stepped close nestling against the dresser in the small space between her knees. "Tell me . . . and I'll go." Klaus wanted her so badly, but what he desired more was for her to want him in return. His chest ached as he waited for some sign that she was going to let him kiss her once more.

Her brain became fuzzy. She didn't move afraid that her body would betray her. It was already screaming for her to pick up where they had left things earlier, and she scrambled to remember why she was fighting it. Closing her eyes, she attempted to focus, 'Concentrate, Caroline! Come on! Get a hold of yourself! It's seduction. That's all. It's a trick! He just want to get in your pants!' Caroline felt a surge of courage. Her eyes shot open and . . . were confronted with Klaus'. The look in his eyes and the way he searched her face admiring every smooth curve of it made him radiate a certain vulnerability that she hadn't expected. There was no manipulation behind his eyes but merely a silent pleading. Taking a short breath, she peered down at his lips. The moment her vision focused on Klaus' dark, parted mouth, her insides curled around themselves. Her determined words were quickly abandoning her. Without making a deliberate decision to do so, Caroline's fingers pressed into Klaus' chest. Feeling the warm rise and fall of his chest made her own skin prickle with heat. Her breathing became harder to control, and her mouth relaxed as the breaths fell out between her lips. Wetting them, her eyes flicked up to his one final time.

Seeing the change in her, Klaus smirked to himself knowing she wouldn't stop him.

She tried to say something, but her body language had been enough, "I—"

Leaning forward he caught her mouth with his while the fingers of his left hand wrapped around the side of her neck. He used his other arm to pull her across the dresser closer to him, her legs instantly twining around his hips. The feeling of her pressed against him made him take in a ragged breath, and he kissed her harder, his tongue slipping into her mouth and pressing strongly against hers. Caroline grasped him around his chest and yanked him firmly against her, her breath held small remnants of her voice as she tried not to moan. Klaus let one hand tangle into her hair, and he tilted her head back and to the side to deepen the kiss. In response, Caroline readily grinded herself against the zipper of his jeans. Klaus' breath caught, and he pulled slightly away from her breaking their kiss. His blue eyes seemed to set her alight as he stared down at her. The only sounds in the room were those of their heavy breathing. She could see him attempt to collect himself as he inhaled deeply and closed his eyes.

When they opened, he whispered,"Goodnight, Love." A new playfulness there in his expression suggesting that her evening farewell was all he had really wanted.

She half-smiled, her eyes still glazed with lust, "Goodnight."

When he stepped back and away from her, she had to stop herself from whining. With a smirk spread across his lips, Klaus retreated to the door and left Caroline in her room alone.

* * *

Caroline felt her consciousnesses returning as her eyes fluttered open to the sound of a passing ambulance blaring its siren. It had taken her a very long time to fall asleep after Klaus' goodnight kiss, so being woken was incredibly frustrating. She was just about to groan and roll over when she heard a mumbling hum come from the first floor. Tucking her hair behind her ear, as was her habit when she tried to listen to something carefully, she zeroed in on the voices originating in the foyer. The first voice was certainly Elijah.

"—Rebekah just reported that she has reached Victoria early and should be heading back within the hour. The timing is off, but she will still not be back before sun up."

"She doesn't suspect?"

Caroline's eyes widened at Klaus' words. Her body went still and her breathing became almost nonexistent as she tried not to alert them to her wakefulness. 'Suspect what? Why are they awake?'

"You know her. Rebekah's instincts are impeccable. She is ahead of schedule for a reason," Elijah continued.

"Yes, well, unfortunately for her, by the time she gets back we will have already tucked Katerina into the basement and the cure will be out of her reach."

"And Caroline? She will not be happy, Niklaus. You know that whatever progress you have made with her today will be all for naught when she realizes what transpired in our confrontation with Katerina."

Caroline's eyebrows pushed together. 'Why would they think I would care about their encounter with Katherine? Of course, _I_ know why I would care, but they don't know about Tyler . . . '

"I gave Caroline every opportunity to get her pup out of town—"

'Wait, what?!'

"—I risked Katerina catching the nearest plane to God knows where and needing to start all over again. If Lockwood is arrogant and diluted enough to stick around even after she told him to run, then I have no pity for the fool—"

Caroline used every measure of self control she had not to hyperventilate and let her heart fly from her chest.

"—No pity and no mercy."

'Oh God! He knows that Tyler is with Katherine! How long has he known?!'

"Very well," Elijah responded.

She could hear as the grandfather clock in the sitting room gonged for 3 o'clock.

"It's about that time."

'Time for what?'

Just then, she heard the front door open and then shut as Klaus and Elijah's footsteps crossed out into the night.

Caroline's breath completely halted. 'Oh my god. They're leaving now. They are going after Katherine and Tyler tonight!'

* * *

**You know, many authors try to avoid cliffhangers. I quite enjoy them. ;P Now, not to worry, I will post the next chapter by _Thursday _or_ sooner_! You won't have to wait a week and half this time.**

**Please leave me reviews and let me know what you are enjoying and even what you are disliking (except the obvious posting delays). Do you think the sexy stuff is believable or am I pushing it in terms of what Caroline would actually allow at this point? Do you want Tyler to escape Klaus? What about Katherine?  
**


	12. Chapter 12

Caroline sped downstairs as quickly as her legs would take her. She threw open the front door and peered out. No Klaus; no Elijah. 'Shit!' Turning around, she paced around the foyer. 'Okay. Where could they be? Rebekah would know! Wait, crap, I don't have her number. Gemma would! No, Gemma wouldn't be here at three in the morning. Where are they, Caroline? Maybe I'll see their car if I go back to that neighborhood with the club . . . ' A sudden thought occurred to her, and her eyes shot open. 'The photos of Katherine! I only saw half of them!'

Rushing through the halls she found her way into the library. She located the file easily enough. It was completely hidden this time, but she plucked it out from its spot beside The Taming of the Shrew easily enough. Clicking on the Tiffany lamp, she haphazardly spread the photos out across the top of the desk. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. The thought of Tyler being there at the meeting spot and her not able to help him was sending her emotions into a frenzy.

Caroline's eyes spun and darted back and forth over the photographs. 'There has to be something!' She searched and searched. There was one picture of Katherine leaving through a door with a half moon painted on it, but there was nothing else identifying about the location. Flinging herself down in the desk chair, her fingers shot into her hair, grabbing it. She groaned frustrated.

"Where are you?!"

She let out a sigh and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she pushed a few pictures around on the table top. Her face fixed on one photo in particular; Katherine lingered in front of an old building, a cafe judging by the bistro tables outside, the perspective showing the length of sidewalk behind her. Caroline could see the small, rectangular shape of a sign hanging above a shop a few doors down from where Katherine stood. She couldn't make out the words on the sign, but the logo was relatively clear; Red petals and the green stem of a rose. Seeing as she had nothing better or more helpful to look at, Caroline tugged open the center drawer of the desk vaguely remembering seeing a magnifying glass among it's contents. Pulling out the glass, she glided it over the top of the photo. Still not quite being able to make out the shop name, she pulled the lamp closer. The curved lines at first didn't make sense, but under deeper examination, the words came into focus. "Midsummer's . . . Eve," she said aloud.

Caroline dropped the glass down and let out a frustrated cry. 'This isn't helping, Caroline!' She racked her brain trying to figure out where Klaus and Elijah were. 'Could I track their phones? Ha. No. I wouldn't have a clue how to do that . . . hmmm . . . '

Without realizing it, Caroline's brain wondered a bit, the name of the shop triggering a memory in her mind of the time she helped Carol Lockwood plan the Midsummer's Eve Founder's Party. Carol had gotten in a huge fight with the florist over their order.

_"These are gardenias! I wanted white roses." Carol had fumed._

_"I'm very sorry for the confusion, Carol. We will of course refund you for your trouble," the man said trying to placate her ._

_"I don't want a refund. I want _roses_! This is a Midsummer's Eve event! Everyone knows that roses are the flowers of June! _Not_ Gardenias."_

Caroline's head shot up as she remembered Carol's words. " . . . the flowers of _June_." Caroline snagged the magnifying glass off the table once more and examined the photo again. 'Midsummer's Eve is in _June_.' Her eyes scraped over every detail in the photo until they settled on a white blur splotched across the shop door. Shuffling back over, Caroline picked up the picture she had seen before: Katherine leaving a building with a half moon painted on the door. Her eyes shot back and forth between the two photographs; Katherine was wearing the same clothes in both. 'Katherine had been leaving Midsummer's Eve. Not the cafe! Midsummer's Eve is June's shop!'

She didn't know for sure if it was the meeting place that Klaus and Elijah had alluded to, but it was something.

Dashing upstairs, Caroline threw clothes over her head and pulled on a pair of sneakers. She took the stairs two at a time on her way back down. The console table stood out in of the corner of her eye. She briefly thought back to the strange shift she had seen in the room earlier. Pausing just as her hand reached for the front door knob, another thought occurred to her.

' . . . like sitting in a parked car . . . '

Slowly, her eyes glided over to the console table.

'Elijah had seemed taken aback. He had cleared his throat.'

Slowly she walked over and stood just where she had seen Elijah standing when she had barged into the flat that evening. She faced the door and glanced around the room.

'The car next to you is moving, but your brain thinks the car you're in is moving. It was centered around Elijah.'

Caroline's eyes squinted as she peered over her shoulder at the four paintings that hung on the wall. Her eyebrows came together as an intriguing thought spun its way through her mind. Shifting to her side she inspected the paintings. First she removed the painting of the rainy pond. It skidded off the nail easily. Replacing it, Caroline moved to the right to try the next painting. It came off the wall without any difficulty too. Moving back to the left, Caroline reached for the painting below the rainy pond; the impressionistic one slashed with red. As her fingers curled around the edge of the frame, she pulled. Nothing. The frame was connected to the wall on all sides. "There you are," she whispered to the painting. Caroline's fingers glided down the right side of the frame until she felt it. A small notch.

_Click_.

The painting slid leftwards revealing a hidden compartment in the wall full of midsized vials. She released an excited breath. "Gotchya." She reached in and pulled one out. Each vial held what she guessed was about a half cup of liquid. After unscrewing the lid, she brought it to her nose and took a tiny whiff. She pulled back sharply.

'Vervain.' A knowing smile crept across her face as she screwed the lid back on and ran out of the flat, vial in hand.

* * *

He was standing just inside June's compact office when her voice drifted down from the stairwell accompanied by a second voice. 'Showtime,' he thought as a sly smirk crept across his features. Klaus counted the footsteps as June and her guests traipsed their way across the large storage area on the other side of the office door at the bottom of the stairs. 'Five?' He listened closely as June and Katherine talked among themselves.

"Did you have any issues finding it?" Katherine asked, a disinterested tone in her voice.

"It was in the possession of a very old witch with a deep loathing for your kind, but I was able to procure it," June responded seeming proud of herself.

Klaus heard a metallic jingle.

Katherine's voice rang slightly impatient. "Four days for a busted up necklace? I hope this is worth it."

"It is," June replied.

"Well, lets just get this started. I've already overstayed my welcome."

Klaus heard items being moved around as June responded,"Troubles?"

"No worries. Just get to it." There was a long pause, and she spoke again , "Where's your daughter? She's normally with you."

June didn't answer her as quickly as Klaus would have liked her to. "Her grandmother is ill. She left for Surrey two days ago. The cure?"

His ears perked. He could hear a slight thwap as Katherine pushed the small bottle into June's hand.

June continued, "It's not like you to take such a risk."

"Some risks are worth it," she said with suspicion. Klaus' smile grew.

June began to chant. It was his cue. Opening the office door, Klaus strode out into the storage space with a fancy-meeting-you-here demeanor and stood near the stairwell door confronting June, Katherine, Hayley, Tyler, and an unknown woman. He could only guess that the stranger was a witch, judging by the strong smell of sage wafting off of her. His eyes stuck to Tyler a bit longer than they did on the others. Tyler shifted at his approach, taking a defensive position in front of the table where the cure lay. Klaus shook his head at the boy's stupidity.

Gliding his eyes back over to Katherine, he confidently remarked, "Are they though?"

Katherine didn't seem shocked, merely fearful, but this didn't alarm him. She wasn't a fool. There was a second witch among them for a reason, but June was with_ him_ and one witch could not incapacitate an original vampire and an original hybrid simultaneously.

"Klaus, good to see you. It's been a while." Katherine shifted a bit as if her whole body ached to run, but Klaus was too close to the exit. Her face was stubborn as she flashed a bitter smile.

"Always a pleasure, Katerina. I'll be having the cure now." As the words left his mouth, Tyler reached under his jacket. Removing a gun from an inner side pocket, Tyler cocked it sending a bullet into the chamber. He lifted it smoothly, pointing it at Klaus. The action shifted Klaus' attention in his direction. "I'm surprised to see _you_ here, Tyler. What with Caroline's warning, I'd think you would be a few thousand miles away by now."

Tyler seemed momentarily confused that Klaus knew Caroline had warned him. "I'm not a coward," Tyler spat at him.

"No, your just stupid." Klaus sidled over to stand in front of him but did not abandon his proximity to the door by much. "I'm really going to enjoy killing you, Mate."

Tyler's jaw clenched, and his eyes bugged out in anger. "Not if I kill you first."

Klaus laughed heartily, but his body language swiftly changed to menacing as he responded, "I'll be thrilled to see you try. "

Katherine had crept a few steps toward the stairwell door. Klaus noticed though he barely looked over at her,"Stay, Katherine. It's just getting fun." His eyes twinkled as he focused back on Tyler and his smirk returned. He wanted to play with Lockwood before he killed him. He flicked his eyes over to Hayley and then back. "I wonder what Caroline would say about the company your keeping."

Tyler's face hardened splicing his anger with arrogance as he responded, "Caroline knows I'm here with Hayley. You see, you don't know everything, Klaus, and you definitely don't know Caroline."

"Oh, I think I do. I've spent time with Caroline since you _fled_ from Mystic Falls, and I think it's safe to say that I _know_ her _much_ better now," Klaus' words dripped with innuendo.

Tyler's eyes grew slightly but only for a moment. "You're lying."

Klaus' shameless smile widened. "Am I?"

"Caroline wouldn't do that. She would never give you the time of day," Tyler sneered his words dripping with the guise of confidence. "She hates you. She will _always_ hate you."

Klaus feigned hurt and his voice dropped. "Funny. That's not what she said last night . . . when she was mewling and panting against me."

Tyler's arm tensed as the veins swelled beneath his eyes the color in them shifting momentarily to yellow. "You shut up. You're done talking about Caroline."

Klaus continued conversationally, "She's surprisingly strong isn't she. I appreciate a woman that knows how to take what she wants.'

Tyler's breathing quickened as he attempted to maintain control.

'One more push . . . ' Klaus thought to himself. His smirk becoming cruel he said, "And . . . she did want it—"

A shot rang out across the room and Klaus jerked to the left when the wooden bullet tore through his chest. He looked down at the bleeding hole and, with his eyes only, peered back up at Tyler.

There was a flash of movement and Elijah stood just behind Tyler. Klaus smiled a wolfish grin. With a sickening push, Elijah shoved his hand through Tyler's back and into his chest. Tyler's face turned to a look of shock, but just as Elijah was about to pull back more shots rang out, but not the bangs of bullets, the whistles of darts, and Elijah tensed for each. With a heavy thunk, Elijah fell to his knees. Klaus' eyes widened infinitesimally. 'Vervain.' But this wasn't right. A few shots of vervain wouldn't take an Original down _this_ quickly. In that brief second, he looked to his brother's face and watched as dark veins bulged over Elijah's chin and cheeks. 'Werewolve's venom.'

Klaus rolled his stare to Tyler again as his eyes morphed into a hybrid's eyes and his canines extended. Tyler had supplied them with venom. That venom now sat in Elijah. 'Mistake,' Klaus growled to himself. In a rush, he charged Tyler . . . but he didn't make it to him. Just as Klaus was about to feel Tyler's blood on his hands, a sharp, stabbing ache spread behind his eyes, and he lost his vision momentarily. It intensified, and he let out an involuntary growl. The mystery witch was staring uninterrupted at Klaus with a deep hatred behind her eyes sending the jagged spikes of crippling pain through his head.

From the edge of the room Katherine smiled watching her backup plan unfold. She looked at Elijah now barely holding off Hayley and Tyler as he suffered from the concentrated werewolve's venom and then over to Klaus who clutched his head spitting as his breaths shot out and blinking in attempt to stand again. Her eyes crinkled with the smile she held as she picked up the necklace from the table and made her way to the door.

"Katherine! Now! Do it! Cure him!" Tyler yelled as her fingers curled around the stairwell door knob. From underneath her lashes, she slyly smirked over at Tyler. Turning the knob, she pulled open the door not about to risk her escape for some dumb kid and his wolf. She would take out Klaus some other day when she had more of the cure. Stepping through the door, she left Tyler, Hayley, and the witch to handle themselves.

* * *

The shop door was locked, so Caroline did what any sensible vampire would do. Twisting hard, she felt the lock give and the door opened with a slight creak. The shop was dark but clean and open. The air smelled slightly of some herb that Caroline couldn't identify. Peering around she glimpsed no light or movement.

"Shit," she breathed. No one was there. She was turning back to the door when she heard it. A gun shot coming from below her feet. Her eyes shot to the floor. 'There must be a basement!' Her eyes frantically began to search the room for doors. Spotting one just behind the cashier's counter, she ran over, flinging it open. Her face fell when she saw that the stairwell behind this door went up, not down. Just then, Caroline heard a quiet whistle sound followed seconds later by a loud growl.

'Klaus! That's Klaus!' Spinning around to look harder for a basement entrance, she saw a hallway leading to a back room. Caroline sped through the hallway stopping in the middle of what looked like a kitchen.

A yellow door was slightly hidden behind a large stack of unopened boxes. 'There you are!' Running to it, Caroline pulled the vial of vervain from her pocket. More shots rang out. She pulled open the door swiftly, happy to find the downward staircase.

She was taking the last few steps down and heard it: Tyler's voice, "Katherine! Now! Do it! Cure him!"

She was reaching for the door knob when the door swung open revealing a surprised Katherine. The sight of her least favorite murderer standing in front of her filled her with a spiteful anger. Without thinking it through, or even considering the consequences, Caroline smashed the glass vile into Katherine's eyes.

Katherine fled back a few steps returning to the basement from the stairwell, shrieking and clutching at her bleeding face. Caroline normally wasn't one to enjoy people's pain, but for Katherine she made the exception. Her burning, bloody hand was worth it. She took the steps down and joined the others in the basement.

* * *

Once Klaus had hit the floor, Elijah sped towards the witch with the single thought of killing her. Before he could reach her, a few more darts and bullets flew into him, and Tyler tossed him away from the witch. In his weakened state, he was barely able to hold off the hybrid.

'Clever, Katherine,' Elijah thought in respect and frustration as he watched his brother struggle to overcome the witches migraine. 'She must be very old.'

He heard Tyler yell to Katherine and wasn't shocked when she opened the door to abandon her companions, but her shriek and reversing form a moment later was a surprise. A surprise he took advantage of as Tyler and Hayley's eyes shot to the disturbance. Speeding past them, he wrapped one hand around the witches head and the other just below her chin, and with a sharp crack, the witch fell limp to the floor. Tyler and Hayley realized their error and continued their assault on Elijah.

With the witch dead, Klaus stood slowly shaking off the remnants of pain and still slightly disoriented.

Katherine pulled her hands from her face and charged Caroline. Caroline tried to defend herself but was much weaker than Katherine. Spewing rage, the brunette took hold of Caroline by the hair and threw her across the room and into a stack of firewood and kindling in the far corner.

Upon seeing this, simultaneously, Klaus took hold of Katherine and flung her to the wall angrily and Tyler rushed to Caroline to help her. In the gap that Tyler's absence allowed, Elijah singled out Hayley, running at her in a weakened, but full out attack.

Tyler heard as Hayley's head cracked against the concrete wall. He paused having barely begun to help Caroline remove a large splinter of wood from the back of her shoulder and, after a quick moment of internal struggle, left her to return and defend Hayley against Elijah.

Unable to reach the splinter herself, Caroline leaned against a large crate not knowing what to do or how to help. Her eyes flicked from the fight between Elijah and Tyler to where Klaus had Katherine pinned up against the far wall. A small shine caught her eye, and she focused in on Katherine's hand. There, grasped in her fingers was a syringe. Klaus didn't see what she was holding. He stood very close to her oblivious to what Katherine's hands did at her sides. He pulled his hand back menacingly ready to remove her heart. Caroline could see Katherine's hand tighten down on the syringe while her thumb went to the plunger ready to inject Klaus.

In that small second, time seemed to stall. 'The cure.' Her mind reeled as she remembered the water in his eyes and the hint of fear in Klaus' voice the day before at the ranch; _"As a human, I was a victim."_

'No!' Caroline rushed forward grabbing hold of Katherine's hand, jerking it back and slamming it against the wall behind her. Klaus' eyes shot over to Caroline. It took him only a moment to realize what almost just happened. His eyes widened and fixed on Caroline. She slammed Katherine's arm against the wall again until the syringe fell from her grip. Thankful for her speed and agility, Caroline grasped it before it fell against the hard floor.

Once the cure was secured, Klaus turned back to Katherine. His eyes turned to ice as he glared down at her. Katherine shook as she watched Klaus' rage boil over across his face. With a quick, imperceptible movement, he pushed his hand into Katherine's chest. In shock, her eyes flew open wide. He felt the slippery, beating muscle quicken and never once broke eye contact as he slowly gripped. As he was about to pull back, Klaus felt a hand grab his arm above the elbow preventing the tug.

Peering over, his eyes landed on Elijah standing to his right, a serious, pleading look in his eyes and a sheet of sweat across his forehead. "You promised, Niklaus."

Klaus let out a deep growl of frustration.

Caroline stood off to the side; the cure gripped firmly in her hand. Lifting it up, she examined the reddish liquid. Out of the corner of her eye she sensed movement near the stairwell door. She looked up to see Tyler escaping with an injured, bleeding Hayley. Tyler had paused in the doorway realizing that Caroline had the cure and she stood just behind a distracted Klaus. His eyes twinkled with hope as he waited for her to lift her hand and jab the needle into Klaus, permanently weakening him.

Caroline's eyebrows furrowed, and she looked to Klaus and then back down to the cure. 'You can cure him, Caroline. Everyone in Mystic Falls will be free of him. Do it.' A sadness washed over her, and her eyes flicked back to Tyler. With a small sigh, her hand lowered back down to her side. Her eyes shown with apologies as she shook her head to Tyler.

His face changed from hope to disappointment to hatred. His jaw tensed, and he shook his head scoffing under his breath. Taking the last few steps to the door, he sped up and out of the shop with Hayley.

Caroline felt as if her heart stopped beating. 'What did I just do?' Her attention returned to the brothers as the wet, crackling sound of Klaus' hand leaving Katherine's chest whispered through the room. Katherine coughed and gagged violently, but her heart was still beating within her.

Klaus brought his bloody hand to her chin. He lifted it until she looked up into his eyes. "This is the last time, Katerina. This is the last favor. It is only out of respect for my brother that you are not dead. Do you understand?"

Katherine nodded to him.

"Good girl," he cooed before using the hand on her chin to snap her neck. Katherine fell limply down.

Turning away from her body, he stepped back. Elijah then moved in scooping her up and heading for the door lethargically. He was just leaving when June called from the corner of the room where she had tucked herself away during the fight, "My daughter! I did my part."

Elijah turned around facing her. He swayed slightly but recovered. "Your daughter will be home within the hour." June nodded and followed him up the stairs and out of her basement.

Caroline and Klaus were now alone. She watched him for a moment, but when he showed no signs of moving or returning her gaze, she walked slowly to the door. She had only walked a few paces when there was a catch on her rear belt loop. Klaus had grabbed a hold of it and held her still while he approached from behind and examined her shoulder. She could feel the pressure change when he wrapped his fingers around the splinter of wood and clinched her eyes shut and held her breath as he yanked the splinter out. A small whimper escaped her lips.

Turning her face over her shoulder, she looked into his eyes. What she found there was disarming and intense. He stared down at her with such a lively mixture of emotions that she could barely discern what he was trying to tell her with it. Without breaking his stare, Klaus lifted his hand around and in front of her. Understanding, she lightly dropped the syringe into his outstretched palm.

Fingers curling around it, he whispered, "Thank you, Caroline."

* * *

**Hey Y'all! Thank you so much for all the reviews! They are like catnip for me and really keep me motivated. ;) **

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don't hate me for letting Tyler and Hayley go. I just don't think Caroline would be able to forgive Klaus for that one. Well, maybe Hayley. But, not Tyler. And all you Kalijah fans are lucky. I originally planned to kill Katherine. :O Alas, prolonging her life was useful, so there you have it.**

**Anyhoo, I'll try and post the next chapter by Tuesday or sooner. **

**Oh! And if anyone would like to help me with a cover image for this fic, I would be super pumped for any assistance!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thank you everyone for your reviews! **

**I got a question regarding how long I thought this story might be. I'm thinking chapter 18 will be the final chapter (so, probably around 60,000 words). The climactic moment that happened in the last chapter was more of a mid-point. I still have yet to write what happens next in Mystic Falls; seeing as Silas is causing mischief in the town, there is still plot to write. Besides, this story is rated M for a reason, and so far, that rating has not been fleshed out yet (pun intended ;) ).**

**Also, now that Caroline has admitted that she isn't really in love with Tyler anymore, and Tyler resents Caroline for not curing Klaus, I think it's safe to say that more Klaroline is on the way. =)**

* * *

Caroline walked through the door of the flat absolutely exhausted. All she wanted was to go back to sleep, but the second her sneakers hit the hardwood floors she heard a gasping coming from the sitting room. Her eyebrows came together as she briskly walked in that direction.

When she first entered the room, she saw no one; though the sound of someone fighting for air was obviously coming from the vicinity. She swung around the side of the couch and gasped at the sight of Elijah on all fours with a look of panic on his face. Kneeling down in front of him, she frantically asked, "Elijah, what's wrong?!"

Elijah shook his head and continued to pant. Feeling the tinges of panic herself, Caroline grabbed his face and turned it upward to look at her. She tried to calm her voice as she stared at him, "Elijah, what's going on?"

"Can't . . . breathe," Elijah said between jagged inhalations. Talking seemed to regulate his breaths, so Caroline asked more.

"Why?" She questioned noticing the pale color of his skin and the way his arms shook from supporting his own weight.

"It's . . . different now," he responded seeming to calm slightly.

"What do you mean?" Caroline was genuinely confused.

"Katerina . . . cured me . . . she had more," he whimpered pathetically, his eyes searching the room.

Her body stilled and her mind raced. Her mouth, though, blurted "What?!"

Elijah coughed a few times, but he seemed to be getting a hold on his breathing.

Her eyes were several times their normal size and fear twinkled in them. "Is she still here?"

"No. She left." Elijah sighed pushing himself over to rest against the foot of the couch.

"What do you need? What can I do?"

"Call Niklaus." Elijah's eyes drifted shut as he savored a moment of normal breathing.

Caroline went to reach for her phone and realized it was upstairs. She didn't have Klaus' number anyway. 'I really need to suck it up and program the Original posse into my phone.' She turned back to Elijah. "Where's your phone?"

Elijah felt his breast pocket, "The basement. I set it down on the table by the cell when I was securing Katerina. It's the small door beneath the stairwell."

"Okay. Hold on, I'll be right back." Caroline rushed back to the foyer and ripped open the little door that led to the basement. The stairwell was well lit with light that drifted up from the room below. She scurried down and rushed to the table Elijah had described. Grabbing his phone, Caroline dialed Klaus. She was just putting the phone to her ear when she heard a soft rustling. Looking over her shoulder nonchalantly and distractedly, Caroline looked into the cell.

She let out a small scream and yelped, "Holy Mother of God!" She nearly jumped out of her skin practically throwing the phone in shock.

Katherine jumped up from the cot in the cell. Her eyes shot open wide surprised at the sudden noise. "What? What?!" She searched the room and her eyes landed on Caroline. Her hand went to her chest as she stared at the blonde viciously. "What the hell?! You scared the shit out of me!"

"What are you doing here?"

Katherine looked at her surroundings and then back over to Caroline. She spoke as if she were articulating to a challenged child. "I'm assuming Klaus locked me up . . . "

"Yeah, and you escaped and you cured Elijah and you left," Caroline rambled her breathing fast from the shock.

Katherine raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, Peaches. _That_ didn't happen." She walked toward the cell door and shook it firmly. It held. "I just woke up, and I'm pretty sure I didn't get out of this cell and cure Elijah while I was lying here dead with a broken neck."

"What?" Caroline was too confused. 'Why did Elijah say that Katherine had cured him?'

"Me no cure Elijah," Katherine said slowly.

Caroline snapped her head over to glare at her, "I get it!" She turned back towards the direction of the sitting room in contemplation. "Elijah said you cured him." When her eyes glanced back to Katherine, Katherine wore a wide grin. "Why are you smiling?"

"Don't worry your pretty head, Caroline. Werewolf venom won't kill him."

Her eyes grew in size again, "He was bitten?"

"Not exactly."

"What's happening to him, Katherine?!"

"Like I said, don't worry. The hallucinations, _unfortunately_, are the worst part for an Original."

'Hallucinations.' Caroline sped over to pick up Elijah's phone. Its screen was busted from its impact on the concrete flooring of the basement. 'Damn.' She sped upstairs to the sitting room.

Elijah wasn't there anymore.

"Elijah?" Caroline listened carefully and picked up the sound of a drawer sliding open coming from the kitchen. She walked through the hall and pushed open the kitchen door. "Elijah?" A shape approached swiftly from the side, and she moved just in time to dodge Elijah coming at her with what looked like a long wooden spoon snapped in half. "Elijah! What are you doing?!"

"I'm not going to let you attack me again, Caroline!" His eyes were wild and his pupils large. He held the sharp spoon handle up in front of him with one hand and held a hand over his neck with the other.

"No, I didn't attack you. You are hallucinating."

"The hell you didn't! You bit me!"

"No! Elijah, I didn't!" Caroline threw her hands out in front of herself and shook her head at him. "It's the venom, Elijah. You're seeing things."

"Don't lie to me!" He screamed, his eyes dilating rhythmically for a moment.

Caroline felt a strange mental tickle and realized what Elijah was doing without even knowing it. "Elijah don't!" She looked away from him sharply trying to avoid further compulsion.

Suddenly, she was pushed up against the kitchen counter. Elijah may have thought he was human, but he lacked none of his vampire strength and speed. Being legitimately terrified, her breathing became quick and erratic. She felt the sharp end of the spoon push at her ribs, but instead of feeling the stab, she felt Elijah's presence rip away and heard a crash to her left. The whites of her eyes clearly visible as they shot in the direction of the impact.

"Get off of me, Niklaus!" Elijah spat. Klaus had him pinned against the counter and kitchen cabinets with his forearm pressed against Elijah's chest.

"What the bleeding hell has gotten into you, Brother?!"

"She attacked me! I had the right to defend myself!"

Klaus paused as his eyebrows came together making him look truly perplexed. He peered over at the fearful baby vampire and then back over to his Original brother. "Sweetheart, why is my brother acting insane?"

"H-he has werewolf venom in him," she muttered.

Klaus still looked confused. A werewolf's venom wouldn't kill an Original. That was the reason Klaus didn't think to heal him to begin with.

Caroline continued. "He's hallucinating. He thinks he was cured, and I fed on him."

He examined Elijah's face before seeing the confirmation there. "Love, grab a glass, would you?"

As she moved across the kitchen, Elijah's eyes followed her. Klaus lifted an eyebrow seeing the fear behind his stare.

Moving the glass over to Klaus, she held it up for him. Instead of taking it from her, Klaus' eyes swirled to yellow and his canines extended as he bit into his wrist. He held it out, and Caroline quickly caught the crimson liquid in the crystal. When his wrist had healed, he took the glass from her.

"Drink this," he ordered Elijah.

"There's no point, I'm not hallucinating! She bit me-"

"Then why is there no bite mark, Elijah?"

Elijah's eyes jumped back and forth between Klaus and Caroline.

With softened eyes, Klaus shook the glass in front of Elijah's face and let the arm pinning him fall down,"Trust me, Big Brother."

Elijah's expression altered as he looked at his sibling. He lifted a shaky hand to grasp the glass and shot it down. The fog within his mind dispersed almost immediately and his face became more calm; more Elijah.

"Better?" Klaus asked righting himself.

Elijah gave a little nod, "Much." The confusion of before flaked away and his irrational behavior became clear to him. His eyes flicked over to Caroline and an expression of true remorse fell upon his face. "Miss Forbes, I am genuinely sorry."

Nodding briefly to him, her voice cracked as she reassured him,"It's all right. No one was killed."

Letting out a relieved sigh, Elijah straightened his suit. "I'm going to retire for a few hours. I'm quite tired." He was pushing open the kitchen door but stopped to turn back to Caroline, "We are very lucky you showed up tonight, Caroline. Without your distraction, we may not have been so successful. Sometimes, with great age comes great ego. We had no forethought to losing that fight. So thank you for being so keen on interjecting yourself into tonight's events."

Caroline laughed a little to herself, visibly relaxing. "I only wish your sister had been there to watch Katherine shriek like a schoolgirl with a skinned knee when I threw that vervain in her face."

Elijah gave a kindly smile. "She will indeed be disappointed." With that, Elijah left the kitchen.

Caroline looked over at Klaus as he stood now leaning against the countertop.

Returning her gaze, he pointedly said, "It's good that you called. I may not have returned in time otherwise."

Understanding spread across her face. She hadn't even thought the phone call she had made from the basement had gone through before it crashed against the floor. "How much did you hear?"

"You made a frightened noise and the phone cut out," he responded. His eyes gleamed remembering the fear her yelp had triggered within him.

She smiled playfully with an exaggerated swipe off her arm, "So you _rushed_ to save me."

Klaus showed no amusement, "Yes."

Her grin faded to something resembling tenderness. She was opening her mouth to say something when Rebekah came through the front door, her voice filtering in through the house. "Why are the lights on? Are you lot up?"

Klaus cringed. He took a breath, "You may want to stay put, Sweetheart. This isn't going to be pretty." He strode through the kitchen and out the swinging door to greet his sister.

Caroline stayed where she was. She was feeling peckish, so she meandered over to the fridge. Grabbing a blood bag, she jumped up onto the counter ready to pull open the tubing.

"You what?!" Rebekah's voice screamed moments before the wet sounds of a crystal decanter being shattered against the wall rang through the air.

"Bekah, don't be melodramatic," Klaus' voice crooned.

Caroline tossed the blood bag back into the fridge and poked her head around the door.

Rebekah had Klaus backed up against the side of the stairwell pointing her pink fingernail in his direction. "Melodramatic?!" Her heels crunched against the glass on the floor. Raising her hand, Rebekah made to smack her brother.

Klaus caught her hand before it could land, "You are overstepping, Rebekah."

Rebekah's voice thickened, and Caroline could make out the shine of a tear on her cheek as she shouted, "How could you? You promised me!"

The raw sound of her voice made Caroline's heart sink though she didn't quite understand why Rebekah was so upset about not attending the fight with Katherine.

"It's for the best, 'Bekah," he said softly, his grip loosening on her hand.

"You are not allowed to make that decision for me!" She yelled.

"You don't understand. We have enemies. You would not live long as a human. You wouldn't have a normal life, a family. None of it. You wouldn't survive long enough to have it."

Sobbing, Rebekah fell into her older brother hugging him. "You didn't have to destroy it," she cried.

'He destroyed it?! Already?' Caroline's eyes bulged as she heard Rebekah's words. She let out a sigh of pity as she watched Rebekah weep into Klaus' shirt, raising her hand occasionally to hit his chest with her fist.

Taking a step back, Rebekah looked up at her big brother. Her voice rang bitter, "I won't forgive you this time, Niklaus." Pushing him forcefully into the wall behind him, Rebekah picked up her purse and keys and left the flat not looking back.

Klaus didn't right himself immediately but stayed leaning against the wall. He closed his eyes, opening them only to gaze at the ceiling for a moment. Caroline watched as his jaw tensed and he raked his hair back with his hands. In a sudden surge of movement, he threw himself up the stairs with heavy stomps. She listened until she heard the slam of his bedroom door.

Turning, Caroline moved back into the kitchen. She didn't know who to feel sorry for. On one hand, she knew how much Rebekah wanted the cure and to have someone you trust take away that option must be heartbreaking. But, Klaus had a point. As a human, Rebekah wouldn't be able to protect herself. Her enemies and her brothers' enemies would take advantage of that weakness. Rebekah wouldn't survive long with a world of vampires gunning for her. Klaus had made a decision that he knew Rebekah would hate him for because it would keep her safe.

She walked back over to the fridge to retrieve her blood bag but heard steps coming back down the stairwell. Sighing, she walked into the foyer where Elijah stood on the last step, his hand holding the banister.

"Did my sister leave again?"

"Yeah. She's super upset with Klaus."

Elijah nodded to himself. "I've asked myself several times how to do right by her as I know Niklaus has. In the end, we couldn't let her sign her own death warrant."

Caroline pursed her lips together and nodded also. "I know. . . I think she thinks being human is the only way she will ever be able to ditch a life she doesn't want to have anymore." Caroline paused briefly and leaned against the console table. "You know, at first, I just wanted to be human again. All I could think about was everything I had lost, but, in the end the list was so short. In the end, there were very few things I couldn't ever have as a vampire. Sure, I won't get preggers, and I won't be wrinkly on a porch, but, honestly, I'm good with not getting fat or old. Just because I won't be a senior citizen doesn't mean I can't age with someone. I can still sit on a porch with someone. And, babies . . . if I am ever so inclined, who says I can't adopt? People do it all the time." Caroline looked down at her feet with a little smile. "I just wish Rebekah could see that a version of her happiness is out there. With or without a cure," she peeked back up at him.

Elijah's eyes studied her intrigued by her words. "You are disarmingly sensible, Miss Forbes."

"Thanks?" She smiled and thought, 'Over-share much, Caroline?'

Elijah glanced up to the second floor in thought. "How is he?"

"I don't know. Klaus . . . he . . . how can someone be _so_ emotional and be so _totally_ unreadable all at the same time?"

Elijah chuckled lightly, "That is a good question." His eyebrows came together momentarily as if he just remember something, "Where is my phone?"

Caroline turned a light shade of red as she pulled it from her back pocket. "I may have given it some character."

Taking the phone from Caroline, he smiled a little wider spotting the smashed screen. "You gave it something."

Surprised by his joke, Caroline laughed filling the room with her guffaw.

Maintaining his smirk, Elijah walked back upstairs. "Good night, Caroline."

"G'night."

* * *

Klaus could hear her light footsteps on the second floor landing. He had heard her conversation with Elijah and had smiled knowing that her views on vampirism had indeed changed since that night he stepped into her bedroom to heal her werewolf bite. Something in her words lessened the guilt that incubated in his chest from his deception of Rebekah.

He lied in his bed with his arms crossed under his head supporting it.

_pat pat pat_

They would be leaving to return to Mystic Falls soon. He wondered if things between Caroline and himself would continue on the way they were before. He hoped not.

_pat pat -_

Klaus looked over at his door when her footsteps stopped. 'She's not going to . . .'

_knock knock knock_

He was genuinely surprised as he sat up. "Come in." He could have gone to the door, but this was better.

Caroline opened the door and peeked around at him. "Your light was on. Am I bugging you?"

"No, Love. Please," he said motioning with his hand for her to enter.

The moment she stepped through the door and looked over at him, she regretted her decision to knock. Klaus sat on the edge of his bed facing her. He leaned forward so his elbows rested above his knees and his blue eyes peered up at her from under blonde lashes.

Caroline could feel her face flush, and she busied herself examining what Elijah had called, "The Black Room". It was appropriately named. The room was dark with furniture and floors sporting a black varnish. Even the brick wall that graced that side of the house had a different palate of stains washed over it in this room. No longer were there blue and beige bricks scattered with the classic red ones, but, instead, the blues were black and the beiges were grey. The bed was a four poster with a heavy patterned draped over the posts creating a curtained effect on each corner. While her room had been all about showcasing natural light, his was made beautiful by the artificial, yellow lights in the antique, electric wall sconces. Even the ceilings were different from her room. Darkly stained, exposed wood beams arched over the room creating a grandness and height absent in The White Room. Across from the bed, there was even a working fireplace. Flames blazed within it as if it were just given fresh firewood to lick at.

"Do you like it?" He asked bringing her out of her thoughts.

"It's very different from my room." Her eyes lingered on the painting over the mantle.

Klaus watched her examine the painting. It was reminiscent of the Barogue period, rich in color and flowing with emotion. Within the canvas was a young man on his knees before three beautiful women. The man stared at the women in rapt adoration and attention; the look on his face was one of a man who had everything he needed and was satisfied to indulge in the sight of the beauty before him for the rest of his days. Caroline furrowed her eyebrows when she noticed the women. Though they smiled down at him with equal love, their bodies told another story. The red headed woman, who Caroline thought was fondling the man's chest from behind was actually scratching him. The brunette's hands that rested around his neck were tightly wound around his throat, and the blonde that sat before him holding his gaze grasped behind her back a bloodied blade.

"Sad," she said mostly to herself.

"I disagree," he said lowly coming up beside her, his eyes also on the painting. "I've always seen a truth behind it."

"He's too distracted by their beauty to see they are trying to hurt him," she pointed to the women as she spoke with a little shake of her head.

"Or perhaps he is too enraptured to feel the pain," his voice was barely over a whisper as he looked over to her.

Her eyes flicked over to his and her breath caught in her throat. 'This was a mistake!' Caroline's brain yelled as warning bells echoed through her head. 'Change the subject, Caroline.' She spun around to walk back toward the door. "I guess I'll let you sleep. I was just wondering if you were okay after, well, Rebekah."

Klaus' eyes softened infinitesimally at her concern, and he walked after her stepping aside his bed. "Rebekah will come around."

Caroline pursed her lips with a little smile and turned to grasp the door knob.

"Are you going to say goodnight?" He asked, a sly smirk crawling up one side of his mouth.

She paused and her heart jumped remembering the few hours before when he had demanded she say goodnight. The memory of his mouth on her made her shiver. 'This is becoming a thing . . . '

Klaus relished the sound of her heart quickening, and he took a step toward her. The tension in her shoulder visible through her shirt.

She turned her head to look at him and felt snared by the provocative look behind his eyes. Her fingers wrapped fiercely around the door knob like it was a lone buoy and she was struggling to tread water. "I already said goodnight. Besides, it's morning." She struggled to keep her eyes met with his but didn't miss the way his chest moved beneath his henley. She irrationally wished she was still with Tyler, so that her self control would stop crumbling beneath her, but the look in Tyler's eyes as he ran from that basement left no room for argument. He hated her. She and Tyler were broken up, and she now lacked the resolution of faithfulness that had kept her so strong before.

Creeping forward he hummed, "Good morning then."

She hesitated briefly, "That's probably not a good idea."

He stepped forward again with a tone of agreement, "You're probably right."

"I am," she said more in a confirmation to herself than to him. Again, he stepped. She could hear his heart beat. It was like a base she could almost feel within her skin.

Her eyes were large as he took the last step to stand in front of her. His voice was low, just over a whisper. "Let me get that for you, Love." Leaning into her, he reached for the door knob. His fingers curled around hers.

Caroline could barely breath. He stood so close to her. 'God damn him! Why didn't I go back to the fridge for that _stupid_ bloodbag?! This would be so much easier if my body would just-'

Releasing a frantic, yet quiet breath, she savored the feel of his hand as it moved her hair off of her shoulder. He scooted closer until his lips rested against the shell of her ear and whispered, "You have to move if I am to open the door, Caroline."

The feel of his hot breath on her ear and the sound of his accent as it glided lazily across the tail end of her name had her feeling heavy. Unintentionally, she leaned her body against the door for support. Her eyes were hooded and warmth cramped low in her belly as she glanced up at him. His eyes scorched her with the heat that rested behind them. The lust there was darker than she had ever seen in a man before. It was possessive and feral.

'Well, fuck, this is happening,' she thought as she inched closer, fitting her body to his.

Caroline was leaning into him and him into her when she saw it. The smile that curled across his face was a winner's smile.

'He's winning, and he knows it.' A flare of competition blazed within her at the sight of his smirk. 'Now he's gone and done it.'

Klaus' lips were about to touch hers when she pulled back slightly. His eyes shot up to hers, and he followed her. Again she leaned away from his advance. Her eyes shown with a come hither look, but every time he was sure he was about to feel her soft mouth on his, she pulled away.

Letting out a frustrated breath mingled with a subtle growl, he pushed her flush up against the wall behind her. Bringing his hands up, he held her face. Caroline smiled. 'Sorry, Klaus.' Her hand drifted up from her side and landed across his stomach. Tantalizingly slow, her hand grazed its way up his chest and settled over his sternum. Just as Klaus' lips were brushing hers, she pushed against his breast bone firmly using her strength to force him back a few paces.

Klaus' eyes burned with a heady mixture of lust and anger. For a split second, Caroline thought she saw his eyes glimmer yellow and smiled to herself. Now _she_ was the cat that got the cream. She was winning, and it was turning her on.

He watched indignantly as the smile spread over her mouth but nearly gasped when her gaze changed from boasting to something domineering and strong.

Caroline swayed her hips as she walked briskly toward him. She could see in his eyes that he was thrown by her sudden shift in attitude. Her deliberate steps toward him didn't slow as she approached, so he backed up to accommodate her. He tripped up not realizing how close he was to the bed and fell back onto it. Caroline shivered. There was something incredibly empowering about the situation; something powerful about knocking back Klaus Mikaelson, the Original Hybrid and having him stare up at her in awe and utter frustration.

And, frustrated he was. She was toying with him; had him literally tripping all over himself like an overwhelmed boy. His jaw set and his eyes seared as he looked up at Caroline. In a quick, aggressive motion, Klaus' hands shot forward gripping her behind her thighs just above her knees and yanking her towards him in a forced straddle. The movement threw off her balance, and she fell back a bit only to be caught in his arms. Recovering from her surprise, she peered back into his eyes. Her breathing immediately became uneven and her core burned with need when she saw the intense resolve and control shining brightly there. There was a no-nonsense behind the look that prevented her from continuing the game of chase. There in his arms there was only the heat of his body and the intoxicating, wild scent of him. Her eyes glazed and her hands lifted to fist his shirt. Simultaneously, and unconsciously she scooted her hips tighter up against him and grinded slightly.

Klaus moaned. His eyebrows smashed together and his eyes half shut at the sensation. Done with moving slow, he used his arms to crush her against him, his lips finally claiming hers hungrily.

Caroline couldn't help the high moan that she released into Klaus' mouth. Taking advantage of her open lips, his tongue entered and heatedly rolled against hers. His hands slid down her back and snaked around her thighs. Gripping tightly, he pulled her against him urgently, pushing slightly upward with his hips creating a delicious friction. The feel of her against his hard length had him biting down firmly, but harmlessly on her lip.

Caroline's skin began to tingle and warm, and she felt the familiar wetness spread from within her.

Klaus slid his hand up once more, but this time pushing it under her shirt and gliding up her belly. He explored the softness of her skin as he made his way higher until his fingers just grazed the plump bulge on the underside of her chest. Caroline jumped slightly, his touch electric as she realized that in her rush to get to June's shop that evening, she hadn't put on a bra. He wasted no time. Lifting that last bit, he grasped the entirety of her breast and squeezed wantonly. Her breathing was loud and tinged with her voice as her head spun drunk with the feel of him.

It was the sudden urge to start removing his clothing that snapped her brain to attention. 'This is_ that_ moment, Caroline. Is this something you are ready for? -Oh, I'm ready!- No! Bad. _Think._ This is turning into _sex_. Sex with Klaus.'

Caroline's eyes shot open, and she pulled back from him slightly but swiftly. Her breathing ragged, she watched Klaus look up. His eyes seemed to understand her. Tilting forward, he placed a small kiss on her lips and withdrew his hand from beneath her shirt. When they parted she let out a breath trying to regain control. Glancing up at him, she said, "Good morning, Klaus."

"Good morning, Love," he responded, a mirthful smile spreading across his face.

Sliding off of him, Caroline walked her way to the door. Before leaving, she peered back at him. He had stood up off the bed facing his headboard and watched her leave with a turned head. Smiling shyly, Caroline left.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! I hope you are still enjoying it! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review! It's just a few words, and it means a lot to me.  
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**I'll post the next chapter by Friday night or sooner.  
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**UPDATE: Sorry for the crazy delay! SO SO sorry! The next chapter is done but I need to do some edits, so tomorrow (Wednesday) for sure! I really appreciate your patience.  
**


	14. Chapter 14

**HAHA! Sorry guys, I know that last scene was a major tease. Don't hate me. Things are gonna get real _very_ soon.  
**

**Thank you so much for your reviews! I always wake up the morning after posting and scan through my email eager to read them. I'm so excited that you guys are enjoying it even though it's not all fireworks and sex. LOL **

**Also, I'm a big fat liar, it'll probably be closer to 70,000 words by the end. I just realized my chapters have been hitting 4000-5000 words a chapter the last few times. I'm gradually getting more and more word heavy, I guess. **

**Lastly, sorry for the delay in this chapter. Some of you may have noticed, but, from now on, if I suspect a delay in posting, I'll write an "UPDATE" at the bottom of the previous chapter.**

* * *

"Caroline," The woman said.

Caroline's mind drifted awake from the deep sleep that had captured her the moment her head had hit the sheets. The bright light coming in through her window made her scrunch her eyes shut, and she rolled over in bed digging her face into her pillow.

"Caroline."

"Go away," her voice mumbled from inside the pillow's fluff. The female voice sounded familiar. Her brain woke a little more.

"Wake up or I'll starting cutting your hair."

"Don't," she whined drawing out the word.

She heard the snap of a pocket knife opening and shot up in bed. "I'm awake!" Rebekah sat next to her knife in hand with a melancholy smile on her face. Caroline's eyebrows came together in confusion. "Rebekah. I thought you left."

"I did. I'm going to. I came back to get my things," her voice confirmed sadly but firmly.

"Where are you gonna go?" Caroline asked sitting up in bed. She flung her hair out of her face with her hand.

"I don't know. I need to get away for a while. Niklaus destroyed my one chance of having a normal life, and, right now, I can't even look at him." Rebekah shook her head and looked down at her hands.

Caroline could see the pain etched across her face and her heart clenched. "You can still be happy, 'Bekah, as a vampire."

Rebekah's eyes shot up and the corners perked in a small smile happy that Caroline had used her nickname. "One day. But not now."

"Being alone isn't going to make it better. It'll just make you feel alone."

Rebekah looked about the room as if she might find someone else in it. "I have no one else."

It hit Caroline just how many people Rebekah had lost. So much attention had been given to Elena for her losses, but, in the same amount of time, Rebekah had to say goodbye to just as much family. "You have Stephen. He's your friend," she said softly.

Rebekah nodded to herself and chewed lightly on her lip. Her brow furrowed as a forlorn expression spread across her face.

"Hey," Caroline said placing her hand on Rebekah's arm. "I'm your friend."

Rebekah gave a genuine smile as she tried to blink back the water in her eyes. "I'm glad. But, you are also the object of my brother's attention, so I don't think taking you with me is going to help me avoid him."

Caroline's shoulders sagged. She had almost forgotten about her predicament with Klaus. She mumbled, "Right. Klaus."

Her attitude shift seemed to sober Rebekah slightly. "What is it?"

Taking a long breath, Caroline admitted, "He's getting to me. I didn't want him to, but he's crawled until my skin like some gorgeous, puffed up tick that I can't remove."

"He does that," Rebekah said with the tiniest of smiles.

Caroline shook her head. "I don't know what to do." She lifted her hands and rubbed them over her face.

"What do you want?"

"It's not that simple. What happens if . . . if I start something with him? What if he decides to kill people? Or attack my friends? I'll feel like I'm a party to that." She shook her head. Imploringly, she stared at Rebekah for an answer. She clutched her pillow in her lap needing to fiddle with something.

"You won't be able to change him. You may be able to give him a push, but he will always be Nik. But, if you were to start something with him, he would bend for you just as you would bend for him," Rebekah reassured.

With a short, huffed laugh, Caroline nodded, "That's what worries me." Her eyes drifted up to the chandelier and noticed for the first time how the afternoon sun reflected on the crystals and glittered across the ceiling. "I don't want to lose myself, and I don't want to lose my friends."

"Your friends will forgive you. If the past is to be taken as any indication, and, correct me if I'm wrong, but no one in your little gang has been permanently ostracized for fraternizing with an Original."

Caroline smiled before throwing her hands in the air and exclaiming, "But Klaus is, like, big bad. I would be _with_ the villain."

A knowing smile spread up one side of Rebekah's mouth. "You're confusing what you see with what you are supposed to see. If you really believed he was an irredeemable villain, we wouldn't be having this conversation." She watched as Caroline took in her words. She gave her a moment, straightened, and continued on speaking with a hint of perkiness to her voice, "Now, in payment for my lovely advice, I need you to go distract my brother, so I can get out of the flat without having to talk to him."

Caroline pointed to herself. When Rebekah nodded, she shook her head. "You got in. You can get out."

"He was sleeping when I came in. He woke up when I was packing. I snuck across the hall when I heard him get in the shower. He's out now. So, scoot," she chirped giving Caroline's shoulder an easy push.

Caroline wasn't budging, "I am not distracting Klaus when he is fresh from the shower!"

"Scaredy cat," Rebekah said with obvious provocation behind her tone.

Caroline's mouth dropped open indignantly. "Am not!"

"Prove it," Rebekah challenged. "I dare you." When Caroline crossed her arms across her chest stubbornly, Rebekah continued, "I need two minutes, Care. I doubt my brother can do much in . . ." She stopped, realizing what she was about to say. "Nope, not going to say it."

"Yeah, cuz it's not true," Caroline grumbled.

Rebekah lifted her leg and gave Caroline a little kick. "I thought you said you were my friend," she whined, a truly pathetic pout on her lips.

Caroline sighed and threw the blankets off of her and over Rebekah's head. "You owe me."

Stomping across the room, she made her way to the door, opened it, and trudged through. In front of Klaus' bedroom door she whimpered with a touch of cowardice. The last time she knocked on his door, she had ended up straddling him in bed. "Ugh!'

_Knock Knock Knock_

"Come in," she heard him say.

Caroline turned the knob and swung the door open. He wasn't there. Confused, she searched the room. His bed was messy and a wet towel was in the middle of the floor. Silently she hoped he was not naked. She was a few paces into the room when his voice peaked up from just behind her.

"I hear I have two minutes," he hummed.

Startled, she spun around. Her voice came out slightly higher than she had wanted it to. Taking a moment to be grateful for his clothing, Caroline let her gaze smooth over him. His hair was wet and messy and his shirt clung to his still moist skin. The smell of soap mingled with his usual scent. 'Oh god, why does he have to smell like soap.' She struggled to not purr and keep her expression unaffected. "You heard?"

A cocky smirk quirked onto his mouth, "Do you really think I'm gorgeous?"

She scoffed, "I think your brain missed the main part of that sentence. I called you an annoying, disease infested, parasite."

A humored smile touched at the corners of his mouth. Klaus stepped up to her, closer than he would have dared a few weeks ago. "But a gorgeous one."

Sighing, she put her hand up, "Just stay here for a minute while 'Bekah leaves."

He shrugged and his smile grew wider. "She doesn't want to be chased, and I'm so enjoying my distraction," he said reaching up to touch her cheek with the back of his fingers. Her eyes softened, and he could tell she wasn't going to argue with this action. While his fingers continued to run across the line of her jaw and across her neck, his eyes greedily drank in the texture of her skin and the way her pajama top clung tightly to her body.

Seeing his blatant admiration made her skin grow warm. 'Well, if I have to distract him, might as well be useful.' Reaching up she pushed the tips of her fingers against the bottom of his jaw lifting his eyes to hers. Her voice was small but sure. "What do_ you_ want?"

His eyes bounced back and forth between her blue ones. They were so bright and curious. The tightening in his chest was only matched by the tightening he felt lower down. "I want you."

She lifted an eyebrow."Why? I'm nothing special. Is this just a sex thing? I said no and accidentally made it a challenge, or something?" The very idea sent an angry tinge into her words.

Klaus looked down, but his eyes quickly drifted back up as he peered at her from under his lashes. "Very few women have ever refused me."

Caroline dropped her hand from under his face and backed a step away. "So that's it?" She questioned while her arms flung out to either side.

"No," he immediately replied following her step. His face calmed when she didn't retreat away from him again. "The night I came into your room to heal you, you surprised me. The plan was to walk in, heal you, and leave. I needed your mother on my side, and you were my vehicle to that."

"Collateral damage," she muttered remembering his words.

His smile faded to something reminiscent. "Yes. I asked if you really thought that low of me and you said, 'yes'. I could see the light in you then. You intrigued me. Then at my mothers' ball you spoke to me harshly."

"Truthfully," she corrected crossing her arms and shifting her weight to one hip.

"People don't speak to me like that. They know better. You know better and yet you do it anyway. I won't deny that you are beautiful and that was most certainly a draw," he admitted with a playful lift of his eyebrow, "But it's the fight in you, your spirit, that I covet."

Hearing his words, her posture and expression softened. He was opening up, and she wanted answers, so she prodded for more, "And what would you do with me_ if_ you had me?"

"Cherish you," he crooned creeping into her space again.

Caroline had to admit that his words were pretty and her heart fluttered with the sentiment behind it, but her brain shouted one last question, "You _shamelessly_ eavesdropped on my conversation with 'Bekah just now, so tell me, would you respect my morals; would you respect me enough to change your ways if we were together?"

Slightly thrown, Klaus straightened and peered down at her. His face was conflicted. He opened his mouth to respond, but she cut him off.

"Don't say it unless it's true."

His lips pursed and his mind juggled back and forth between the possible answers he could give to her question. He struggled for a few moments before admitting defeat and just returning her stare. His shoulders dropped, but he stood before her confidently. He decided, he would not lie to her, and he would not lie to himself. "I don't know."

She stepped back from him once more. "Right. I'm going to go get dressed," she breathed as she left the room.

* * *

Caroline walked into the dining room feeling groggy. Her shower hadn't refreshed her at all. Upon entering, she noticed Elijah sitting at the table with what looked like a grilled steak salad in front of him and a newspaper. She asked, "How are you feeling?"

He gave a light smile at her entrance. "Much better. My pride is wounded, but I'll live."

She smiled back as she hunkered down in one of the chairs and began making her own salad from the ingredients spread haphazardly about the table. "Live to die of something worse." She snickered. Looking up at him she saw a confused tweak to his eyebrow. "It's something my mom used to say." Her voice deepened as she tried to mimic her mother's stern way of speaking, "'Calm down, Caroline. You'll live to die of something worse.'"

Elijah shook his head slightly amused. "Interesting perspective," he said before sipping at a cup of tea.

She nodded. "True though. Considering how things have changed over the last year or so, I think it's safe to say that I _will_ die of something worse than a scraped knee or a bad hair day."

"Indeed," he agreed.

Just then, Klaus barged into the dining room and strode over to sit near Elijah across the table from Caroline. He threw a few berries on his plate and began making his cup of tea. "What are we talking about?"

Caroline smirked. "The statistical probability that a wounded ego could kill an original."

Klaus raised an eyebrow at her explanation.

With an exaggerated sigh she dramatically glanced wistfully toward the ceiling. "A girl can only dream."

Klaus's phone rang. "You're funny." Checking the caller I.D. he smiled and answered, "Ripper!"

"Klaus," Stefan replied with an unamused tone.

"Stefan?" Caroline chirped excitedly.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?"Klaus asked.

Without preamble, Stefan dove into the reason for the call, "Damon was attacked last night . . . by Silas."

"Stepping out from the shadows is he?" Klaus asked intrigued.

"Not exactly. He came to him in the form of another. Alaric, actually." Caroline's heart broke hearing this. She wasn't Damon's biggest fan, but Silas showing up as Alaric was pretty messed up.

Stefan continued. "Stabbed him with a stake and broke it off inside of him. At least that's what he thought. He had me trying to dig out non-existent wood splinters all night."

"Nonexistent?" Klaus questioned.

"Yeah, we got into a little spat at about four this morning, and in his anger, it seems the pain just suddenly wasn't there anymore."

Klaus leaned forward on the table with his elbows as he spoke, "Hmm . . . What did he want?"

"He wants the cure."

Sighing, Klaus leaned back in his chair again. "Well, that's unfortunate."

"He knew things, Klaus. Information Damon hadn't told anyone. I have a feeling that we are dealing with something a little beyond our capabilities."

A blithe smile splattered across his face, "Are you asking for my help, Stefan?"

"Bonnie is M.I.A., Tyler is on the run, Elena is uncooperative at best, and you have Caroline, so yes. We could use some reinforcements." There was a brief pause while Stefan could be heard pouring himself a drink. "We've been trying to find Katherine, but we lost her trail in New York."

"Don't you worry about that, Stefan. It's well in hand."

"You found her?"

Klaus dismissed his question, "I'll be in touch. Oh! And you may want to lure Rebekah back to Mystic Falls. We could use the extra hands."

Caroline smiled to herself at the idea.

"She's not with you?"

"Not as such. You may_ not_ want to mention I suggested it."

"Fair enough. Let me talk to Caroline."

Klaus dropped the phone from his ear, and he peered over at Caroline. She already had her hand jutted out in front of her ready to grab the phone. He momentarily contemplated just hanging up on Stefan, but decided against it when he saw how eager she was. As he passed off the phone to her, a ping of jealously stung at him.

"Stefan!" She exclaimed.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine," she reassured him.

"Having fun?"

She groaned. "Gag me with a spoon."

Klaus dramatically threw his hand up over his heart as if her words stabbed. Caroline rolled her eyes at him.

"Hurry home," he said. She could hear the smile in his words.

"Twist my arm," she responded dryly. "What's going on with Bonnie? What do you mean M.I.A.?"

"We haven't been able to find her anywhere. Her dad said that last he heard, she was with Shane . . . well, Silas."

"I hope she's okay," Caroline said worriedly.

"We're looking for her. We'll be able to cover more ground when you guys get back."

"Okay, we'll be there soon."

"Bye, Care."

"Bye, Stef." Stefan hung up the phone, and she did the same.

Inconspicuously, she waited patiently for Klaus to lift his tea to his mouth and tossed the phone at him. He barely caught it as it flew at his face and after glared up at her irritated as a bit of tea sloshed over the rim of his cup.

Elijah watched this with amusement. When Klaus was about to say something in rebuttal to her actions, he piped in,"We return to Mystic Falls then. Silas will not be happy to learn that the cure has been destroyed."

Using his napkin to wipe the spilled tea, Klaus turned his head towards Elijah. "I'd imagine not."

"Should I push up our flight?" Elijah asked setting down his paper.

Klaus shook his head. "No. Silas attacked Damon last night. He's not going to try again until at least tomorrow. Not to mention, there are worse things that someone torturing Damon Salvatore. Tonight is soon enough, but my tickets will need to be exchanged?"

Elijah looked between him and Caroline and raised a brow, "Niklaus?"

"Need to know, Brother," he said taking a sip of his tea. He turned his attention to Caroline once again and faking congeniality he said, "Caroline, Love, you should pack."

She couldn't help but smile. 'Finally! Back to Mystic Falls.' Some wanted space from Klaus before things got any more complicated. Tossing the last few bites of spinach into her mouth, she excused herself to do just that.

* * *

"There!" She proclaimed proudly as she zipped up her overly full bag. She was placing it next to the dresser when a knock sounded at her door. Taking the few steps over, she opened it. Klaus stood behind the door with a playful smile.

"May I come in?" He didn't bother waiting for her response as he slid tightly passed her into the room; his military style jacket making a small sound as it slid across her shirt.

She stood there at the door for moment shaking her head at his brazen flirt. When she finally closed it, she glanced over at him hesitantly. "You aren't going to ask me to say good afternoon are you? Because, that would seriously be pushing it."

His smile widened slightly and his eyes twinkled with the dirty thoughts that lay behind them. He sat down on the edge of the bed as if he were getting comfy. "No. I needed to speak with you about this Silas situation."

"Oh?" She didn't move. As curious as she was, the sight of Klaus on her bed had her feeling anxious.

His smile became a smirk as he tilted his head to the space next to him. "Sit, Love. I won't bite."

Caroline raised her eyebrow accusingly.

"Scratch that," he laughed lightly recalling the fact that he had bitten her before.

She sighed as she plomped down next to him, "What is it?"

"Can you keep a secret?" He asked.

She was interested, so she turned to face him. "From who?"

"Everyone."

Taking a moment to answer, she apprehensively responded, "It would depend."

'Smart girl,' he thought realizing she wasn't going to blindly agree. "What if I told you that the safety of your friends and the success rate of our plan against Silas depends on it."

She considered it. "You have a plan?" When he nodded, so did she. "Then, yes, I can keep a secret."

"This is something only you and I will know," he elaborated.

Her brow shot up and her eyes widened. "Elijah?" When he shook his head silently, she puffed out a bit of air. "I feel like I'm about to walk blindfolded off a cliff."

Klaus started to shift off the bed, "If you'd rather I'd not tell you-"

"No," she said a little louder than she had anticipated. He dropped back down to the mattress. "It's all right. Go ahead-Wait! What if Elijah or Katherine hear?" She glanced worriedly to the door.

He dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand, "Elijah isn't here, and the basement is spelled. Katherine can't hear anything when the basement door is closed."

"Okay." Caroline took a deep breath in anticipation. She watched as Klaus reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small glass vial that swirled with a familiar red liquid. She yelped, "The cure! You didn't destroy it?!"

"I'm not an idiot, Sweetheart, but it's safer for my family if everyone believes it no longer exists."

Her eyes shot back up to him in a tiny fit of fear, "This isn't one of those if-I-told-you-I'd-have-to-kill-you secrets is it?"

He laughed outright at her, "More like if-you-tell-anyone-I'll-dotdotdot."

She nodded slowly, "Right. So why are you telling me?"

Klaus explained, "Well, here's the thing. I can't go back to Mystic Falls. I'll be close by but not too close."

Sensing something was amiss, her eyes narrowed. "Uhuh? And why is that?"

"Well, it's something Stefan said. Silas knew information about Damon that Damon hadn't told anyone. Silas was able to get inside his head, and the plan depends on Silas thinking the cure is destroyed. He may be able to get inside _my_ head, so I can't be anywhere near him." He shrugged and looked around the room waiting for her to catch on.

Her face immediately contorted in confusion, "But . . . but you told_ me_."

He looked fixedly as her and grinned. "Yes, I did."

"But _I'm_ going back to Mystic Falls . . . "

Klaus raised an eyebrow as if to ask "Are you?"

Understanding flashed across her face. Raising her fist she hit him hard in the arm. "Are you kidding me?! What the hell, Klaus! You-You! Ugh! Seriously!" Standing up from the bed to better yell at him she paced furiously.

Faking a realization of his own, he pronounced, "You're right, Love. It is way to dangerous for you to go back to Mystic Falls now. I guess you'll have to stay with me." He continued to smile and rubbed at his arm where she had hit him.

She picked up a pillow from the window seat and chucked it at him. "Dick move, Klaus. Dick move!"

Dodging the pillow, Klaus rubbed his hands together and stood looking very proud of himself. "Well, now that that's settled. We leave in an hour."

She shook her head feeling like she wanted to claw those overconfident eyes right off his face. "You're such an ass!"

He gave a classic smirk as he opened the door to leave.

Before he could abandon ship, she yelled out to him, "At least tell me where we're going?"

* * *

**So, Klaus and Caroline are traveling somewhere together. Where do _you_ want them to go? Let me know if you have any ideas. I left it open for a reason . . . Stick to the eastern U.S., so it makes sense. ;)  
**

**Pretty please with sugar on top leave a review! Let me know what you like and/or what you would like to see more of. Constructive criticism is always welcome.**

**I'll try and get Chapter 15 up by this Friday night. If you don't see a new chapter by then, check back here for updates.  
**


	15. Chapter 15

**YAY! Thank you SO SO SO much for all the reviews! Thanks to them, I couldn't help but sit down and write another chapter! You guys are fantastic!**

**So, I decided to not write New Orleans because I'm actually GOING to New Orleans next week, and I thought it would be silly to write about a place I'd never been when I'm going there in just a few days. I'll be cringing when I get there and realize how badly I described it. Haha! But, who knows, maybe New Orleans is in the stars for later in the story if I get inspired (and, honestly, I doubt I won't be inspired by New Orleans). =) Also, New York had been done many times over, so I chose the unlikely suggestion.  
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**I do want to warn you that this chapter didn't get as much editing as normal, so hopefully it isn't too choppy or have too many errors. I'll probably do another editing run tomorrow or the next day when I have time.  
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**SMUT WARNING- I do use a few of the harsher words, so ye be warned.  
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* * *

"No one cares, Katherine," Elijah said boredly. He'd been listening to her A.D.H.D. style of prattling since they left the airport.

"I'm just saying that this isn't the safest place to be right now."

"So noted," he affirmed turning the key in the ignition to "off". Opening the car door, he stood up eying the facade of the Salvatore Boarding House. It was a very hot day, the first of the limited heat waves Mystic Falls experienced every year.

"You do realize that I'm not welcome here, right? I did kinda help kill baby Gilbert."

"If I'm not mistaken, 'kinda' shouldn't be in that sentence. 'Help' either."

Katherine walked next to him with a frown as he strode toward the front entrance. He knocked several times before straightening his suit.

"This is a mistake," she mumbled from beside him.

"Be silent, Katherine," he said calmly as the door knob turned and opened. Elijah's eyebrows quirked up slightly at the sight in front of him. There stood Elena in a low cut floral top and tiny, frayed, cut off shorts.

At the sight of her favorite Original, Elena smiled, "Just when I thought it couldn't get any hotter."

Katherine's eyes widened slightly and a single eyebrow rose high on her forehead.

Elijah gave a short laugh, "And there it is."

Katherine looked over at him, "What?"

"The familial resemblance. I had so hoped your . . . charming personality had been recessive, Katerina," he teased at Katherine.

"You're hilarious," she breathed looking out toward the driveway.

"Elijah," Stefan's voice rang from inside the house moments before he joined Elena in the doorway. When he saw Katherine at his door, his jaw set. "Come in."

Nodding politely Elijah made his way toward the sitting room with Katherine, Stefan, and Elena following. Damon was at the dry bar when they stepped into the room.

"Hello, Damon," Elijah greeted.

"Elijah. Here to rally the troops." Damon responded before eying Katherine. "Psycho hose beast. I see you're still alive," he directed at the elder doppleganger in greeting taking a large gulp of his drink. He looked tired and spread thin. "What a shame."

Katherine smiled coquettishly, "Damon, you don't look so good. Girl troubles?"

Turning to Katherine, Elijah lifted her chin. When her eyes hit his, he compelled, "Don't. Speak."

Katherine huffed angrily as she plopped down onto the sofa and decided to use her middle finger to bypass his compulsion.

"Don't be dull, Katerina." He sat in the spot next to her on the couch crossing his left ankle to his right knee.

"Where's Klaus?" Stefan ask sitting across from them leaning his elbows forward on his knees.

"Niklaus will not be joining us just yet," Elijah replied.

"Why not?" Damon snarked over his shoulder before sitting down in the leather armchair to their side.

"He will not say, but I can only deduce that he has information that would be dangerous in the hands of Silas and is staying away in order to avoid jeopardizing our plan."

"Plan?" Stefan asked.

"We cannot attack Silas because we don't know where he is. Before any move can be made against him, we must first locate him. Are the blood stores in the local hospitals still being depleted?"

"Yes," Damon responded.

Elijah nodded and continued, "We hypothesize that Silas is still physically weak and that is why he is gorging. It's possible that his body has not fully recovered from its dessication. The longer you are desiccated, the longer it takes to recover. We may be at an advantage."

"Okay, so we find his body. Then what?" Damon asked taking another drink.

"I am not privy to that part of the plan. As we are present in Mystic Falls and therefore open to Silas, we are all kept at a need-to-know status."

"And we're just supposed to trust that Klaus has a plan."

"Yes."

Stefan's forehead was deeply creased in thought. "And Bonnie?"

"We must assume for now that Ms. Bennett is in league, whether intentionally or not, with Silas. She should not to be made aware of our plans, and preferably is to be avoided. Silas isn't daft enough to kill his only Bennett witch. She'll be safe."

Stefan nodded to himself before asking the next question. "Where's Caroline?"

"Ms. Forbes is with Niklaus," Elijah answered.

Elena snorted as she perched on the arm of Damon's chair. "Shocker," she said into her glass before taking a sip.

The insult in her words confused him. He had heard she had flipped her switch, but without her emotions, she was a wholly changed person. "You're different, Elena. You've abandoned your emotions," he noted with a sadness behind his eyes. The Elena he so admired wasn't there when she was like this.

Elena swallowed the rest of her drink, "Someone murdered my brother," she said accusingly with a pointed look at Katherine.

Katherine couldn't speak, so she sank back into the couch checking her manicure.

"I'm truly sorry," he pronounced genuinely.

"Don't be. Best thing that's happened," she shrugged.

Elijah turned to Stefan, "This is why you describe her as uncooperative?"

"Yes," he said peering over at Elena. She rolled her eyes and got up to refill her drink. "She's been less than helpful."

"We need all hands on deck, Elena," Elijah reprimanded.

She whirled around to glare at him, "Don't start, Elijah. I just got _them-" _she flung her hand toward both Salvatores, "-to back off the turn-it-back-on-train."

"I was merely suggesting you participate. Turning your emotions off was your decision; I decision I am not in a position to judge and must respect," he assured.

Damon cringed slightly, "Yeah, that's not how that went down . . . exactly."

Elijah's face stayed calm as he asked, "Meaning?"

Daman didn't answer immediately, so Stefan chimed in, "Elena was sired to Damon, and Damon told her to turn it off."

Elijah looked disapprovingly at Damon, his jaw jutting forward slightly. He could not deny that he was angry. Elena was the most compassionate person he had ever encountered, and now, because of Damon, her heart was tainted. Taking a short breath, he directed his gaze at Elena. "May we speak privately?"

She weighed the question. Part of her wanted to say no and walk away, but Elijah wasn't her enemy and had never done anything against her before. "Why not?" She set down her glass and gestured to the front door, "A walk?"

"Lovely," he said standing and pulling taut his suit jacket. Walking toward the front door, he stopped only when Damon yelled over at him.

"You're just going to leave _her_ here?" He pointed at Katherine with a look of distaste on his face.

"Katerina is compelled to not venture more than 15 yards from where I expect her to be unless she is seeking me out specifically. Not to worry, Damon. She's not going anywhere." Elijah followed Elena out of the Boarding House.

He and Elena had walked several hundred feet into the tree line surrounding the house when he halted abruptly. The sound of his footsteps no longer following stopped her as well. The look on his face was stern and expecting. She sighed, "What did you want to talk about?"

"I am distressed by your state," he conceded.

Elena smiled and shook her head slightly. "Of course you are. 'You're compassion is a gift, Elena.'" she mocked. "I'm disappointed, Elijah. You don't like me anymore?"

He let the sadness show on his face for a moment before he shook it away for a more stoic expression. "You are needed in the fight against Silas. Everyone is. You will cooperate?"

"And if I don't?"

"I will compel your switch back on," he said authoritatively.

"You can't-" she stopped when her mind flashed to the night Klaus had compelled Stefan's switch off. Elena became genuinely nervous. 'Originals can compel the switch,' she realized.

"I can and I will, Elena."

"You said that you would respect my decision," she loudly protested.

"That was before I learned that this," his hand raised regarding her, "was not your decision."

"No!" She shouted looking enraged. Beginning to pace in front of him, she looked like a caged animal.

Elijah subtly lifted an eyebrow and hid the smile that threatened to appear on his lips. He was making her angry. 'Good,' he thought. "As I said, if you assist properly in the attack on Silas, I will not compel you."

Elena let out an angry groan as she continued to glare and pace. After a moment, she stopped silently accepting defeat. "Fine! You are a man of honor, Elijah, and I _will_ hold you to this."

He smiled lightly, "We have an agreement."

* * *

Caroline's jaw dropped when they walked through the double doors of the penthouse. The exterior walls were actually floor to ceiling windows and all white furniture made up the sitting area accented with turquoise pillows and vases. A full kitchen with a breakfast bar sat off to the left and just visible on the other side of the windows was a large patio area complete with a long, narrow pool pushed along the bordering railing.

"You don't do anything halfway do you?" She asked. Her eyes scanned over the room as if she were drinking in everything her eyes could touch.

Klaus stepped up behind her taking her bag from her hand. He used the excuse to mutter in her ear, "What's the point in living halfway?"

She let him take her bag from her and watched him carefully as he walked toward the doors that were off to the right. He stopped short and peered back over to her. "Did you want to choose which room will be yours?"

A burst of excitement coursed through her, and she skipped toward the doors. She opened the first door and nearly purred. The white continued into the bedroom, but it was present in the carpet and bedding. The furniture and trim were all a deep espresso color and narrow brown panels of curtain hung down every three window panes. Just like the sitting room, windows made up the exterior walls and showcased an ocean view, and the paint on the other walls were a dark brownish, grey. A large Love Sac sat off to the side next to a fully stocked bookshelf. Caroline's eyes lingered on the plush look of the mattress and duvet. It was very comfortable looking and yet a sophisticatedly styled room. She sighed and sidled over to the door next to the one she peered through.

Again, the windows overlooking the ocean lined one of the walls, but this room she could only describe to herself as cleaner. The room was a touch bigger, but it had to be. The bed was up on a multileveled platform that created steps to the mattress. The floors were an extravagant chevroned marble adding texture to the simplicity of the room. Instead of a reading area, this room boasted a large, dark table with plush leather chairs and underlined by a slate blue rug. Above the bed held a solidly painted canvas in the same slate blue streaked with charcoal greys.

Caroline was stumped, but in the end pointed Klaus in the direction of the reading room. He smiled to himself surprised by her choice.

She meandered back to the sitting room as he stowed her bag away. She was made speechless by the luxury she was surrounded in. 'I might just die when I see the bathroom,' she thought.

As if on cue, Klaus spoke up, "That door over there looks like the washroom." She nodded distractedly and wandered into the kitchen. She opened the fridge to find a healthful assortment of food and several baskets filled with blood bags of all types. Confused, she turned to Klaus pointing at the blood.

"I have an associate here that was kind enough to stock the kitchen for us," he answered leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets. He had ditched his jacket while she was looking around.

She nodded again, "I see." She peered back toward the patio and examined the pool. "I wish I had brought a swimsuit."

"There is swimwear that should fit in the cabinet by the bathtub," he looked up at the ceiling as he spoke trying not to show his excitement at the idea of seeing her slim body clothed in nothing but a bikini.

"Huh. You've certainly thought of everything," she smirked as she walked toward the bathroom. It was the largest bathroom she had ever seen. Near the window was an oversized tub surrounded by candles. Leading up to the tub were some lightly stained wood steps. There was a cabinet against the wall to the left next to a vanity, and the wall opposite the window held a floating counter with two sinks and little apothecary jars full of bathroom supplies. It took Caroline a moment to figure out what was happening with the far wall that instead of paint was made up of gray stone tiles. She gasped in excitement when she realized it that it was a doorless shower. The floor was slightly slanted toward a drain and the ceiling held a round rainshower showerhead the size of a beach ball. Caroline walked to the cabinet and opened it. Sure enough, inside of a wicker basket there was an assortment of different colored bikinis. She examined one of the tags. 'Yep. My size.' She smiled to herself. Everything was so beautiful. Being there was overwhelming. Taking a deep breath and giving herself a mental shake, Caroline strode out of the bathroom to join Klaus in the sitting area. "So what now?"

"We wait until Elijah has news," he said over to her from where he lounged on the sofa.

"Sounds boring," she blurted as she fell backwards over the backrest of the sofa and landed on her back on the firm cushions.

He enjoyed the sight of her long legs curled up over the backrest and how her hair cascaded down over the seat. "Not to worry, Love. Lots to do in this city. Especially at night."

"Is that why you chose Miami Beach? I will admit. I thought you would take me to New York or Chicago. The art scene and all that."

Klaus laughed, "Honestly, I thought you would enjoy the sun."

"Well, if I'm going to be forced to spend time with you, at least you are being thoughtful."

"Spending time with me isn't all bad."

She smirked teasingly over at him, "Only mostly." The grin he sent back to her was mirthful and honest. 'He should smile like that more often,' she thought to herself. He seemed at ease. "I suppose you aren't bad company when you aren't being a homicidal, pms-y, alpha douche."

Klaus chuckled slightly, "Thanks?"

* * *

Caroline bent upside down messing her curls and pushing volume into her hair. She slowly braided her hair loosely from one side to the other tucking the tail under the braid at the end. 'Messy, yet classy,' she thought nodding at the end result. Her makeup was done to perfection and the little black dress she had snagged from the shop a few buildings down fit her just right. She had decided on a modest style with thick straps and a swoop neckline around mid-thigh in length. It fit her snugly showing off her smooth curves but was in no way revealing. She hadn't wanted to give Klaus the impression that she was dressing for him. She couldn't help herself though from indulging in one of the most beautiful pairs of red leather stilettos she had ever seen. Caroline accented the simple dress with dark eye coal, red lipstick, and long, red chandelier earrings. 'I look fantastic! I can't wait to see Klaus' face.' She paused as she reached for the bathroom door knob. 'Did I just think that?! . . . Crap.'

She swayed out of the bathroom and looked around the sitting room. He wasn't there. 'Damn.' She spotted a glass of champagne sitting on the breakfast bar next to the black clutch she had set there earlier. A large grin hit her face, and she almost skipped over to pick it up. She knew perfectly well that she should be indulging in something a little more . . . red, but this was champagne. The first long sip shattered into a thousand peach-y bubbles as soon as it hit her tongue, and she hummed in pleasure.

"Like it?" Klaus asked having enjoyed the small sound she had expelled upon tasting it. Caroline spun around to face him, and it was as if his heart stopped. In just an instant his whole body screamed to get closer to her and yet couldn't move. He just stared. A bright blush sneaked into her cheeks giving her a glow. Even in her embarrassment, she only became more stunning to him.

"It's amazing. I've never had anything like it," she tried to describe what made it so good but failed to summon the words. She set the glass down on the bar and turned back to him. He looked really good. Dark slacks and a tailored dark blue button up gave him a polished look, but his sleeves were rolled to his elbow and the top button near the collar was open giving him an appropriately casual air. Over his shoulder he slung his jacket. She grabbed her clutch from the bar and walked to him. As she grew closer, she noticed that once again he smelled of soap. She laughed at her reaction to the smell, 'Apparently, I like my guys clean.'

"What is it?" He asked watching her give a silent giggle.

"You," she laughed. "You even smell good."

He huffed out a surprised laugh. "Are you ready?

"Yes!" She exclaimed excitedly.

Klaus opened the door for her, and they left the penthouse.

* * *

Caroline stripped her shoes off and tossed them down in the sand as she ran out towards the waves. Her head was spinning from the many glasses of champagne and mojitos she had imbibed in the last few hours, and she was enjoying the uninhibited state.

Klaus followed closely behind her. He tossed his jacket down with her heels and his shoes and socks quickly followed. He was also feeling quite giddy. What with Caroline gradually becoming more and more familiar with him as she drank, he drank to distract himself from all the things her close proximity tempted within him.

"It's so warm!" She yelled happily over to him as the surf jumped up her ankles.

"Of course it is!" He shouted back as he caught up with her.

"I've never been in ocean water this warm before," she sighed happily as she looked over at him. It was well into the night by now, but the colorful city lights were enough to light their way.

Klaus looked out over the water enjoying the breeze coming off the water.

"Look at you," she said, "showing me the world."

Slowly his head tilted toward her. He watched her face for a minute waiting for the inevitable insult that followed half the lovely things she said to him. "I told you I would."

Caroline nodded and looked back out over the water. "How long had you known that I was in London because of Tyler?"

"I knew you didn't come with me for the reasons you mentioned, but it wasn't until Elijah showed me the pictures of Katerina's wolf companion," he spoke softly not looking at her.

"Haley," she tensely stated. The very mention of her name made Caroline's blood boil. Klaus could hear the anger in her voice and looked over at her. "I hate her. I don't like to say I hate people, but I _hate_ her." Caroline felt the tickle under eyes and knew her eyes was changing. Not caring, she didn't push away her vampire characteristics. Normally, she would have gotten it under control immediately, but they were on a dark beach and, at her current level of inebriation, she just didn't care.

"Caroline?" Klaus asked. When her face upturned to him, his eyes locked on hers. Lifting his hand he traced the line of her cheekbone with his thumb. He was hypnotized by her vampiric eyes. He had never seen them before, but as soon as he was close enough to admire them, they had reverted to her normal blue orbs.

"Sorry, I guess I'm thirsty." She cleared her throat and looked back toward the buildings. "We should head back, so I can get a blood bag," she turned to walk back to her shoes, but Klaus gently caught her hand.

"I'm thirsty myself. Do you ever hunt?" He knew well that she didn't but was curious if it was something she would consider.

"No," she answered with a furrowed brow.

"Why?"

Her confusion was replaced with irritation, "I don't like to hurt people."

"Don't be upset, Love. I'm only curious."

She huffed trying to not be so sensitive about it.

"You know, you can feed without hurting people," he tested.

"It hurts, Klaus. It hurts to be bitten."

"But it doesn't have to," he urged.

Her expression was a mix between curiosity, fear, and disbelief. "How?"

"You compel the humans you feed from to enjoy it. You compel them to want it. Pain is interpreted in the mind. You compel the mind to interpret the pain of your bite as pleasurable instead."

"I don't like to compel people," she responded though she had to admit she had never thought of Klaus' suggestion before. "It's a humanity thing. It's important to me. I know what it's like to be compelled and used. I don't want to do that to someone else."

Klaus' jaw tightened at her words, "Who compelled you?"

"It was a long time ago," she reassured him though it wasn't very effective.

"Have you ever fed from the vein?"

Caroline laughed quietly. "Aside from yours?" she asked bravely. "Yes, I drank when I was turned, but then I accidentally killed someone and . . . I don't ever want to feel that way again. Blood bags, animals, I can control that. I don't trust myself to not become a monster if I feed on humans. I don't want to do that to them. Do you understand?"

"I understand what you are trying to tell me though I do not truly understand the motivation. You are selling yourself short. You aren't really in control until you learn to feed on humans. What would you do if you found yourself in a situation where there were no blood bags? If there were no animals to catch?"

Caroline thought seriously about it for a moment as they walked over to their belongings. "I don't know."

He smiled over to her as he picked up his shoes and jacket, "Food for thought, Love." Feeling quite brave himself, he added, "I could teach you. If you wanted."

The idea of Klaus showing her how to feed after compelling someone to enjoy her bite made her shiver in a way she wouldn't admit to. "I think I'll stick to blood bags for now."

"As you wish."

* * *

Caroline hopped through the penthouse door excitedly. Klaus had given her full reign over the radio, and she had blared the most obnoxious, girly pop music as they drove back. She felt refreshed and ready to continue with the evening. As soon as she set down her clutch, her eyes shot to the patio. She gasped, "The pool! I forgot!" She giggled and scurried to the bathroom and pulled the door shut behind her.

Her energy was contagious. Smiling to himself, Klaus called to her, "More champagne?"

"Yes! And music!" She responded from inside the bathroom. She took a moment to refresh her lipstick though she tried not to think about why she felt it was necessary. She shuffled through the basket of bathing suits until she found the one she was looking for. A red one. She left her earrings on and unbraided her hair, once again bending over to fluff her curls. She could hear Klaus turn music on and laughed that, of course, he had chosen something less bouncy than she would have picked. Walking out of the bathroom, she was once again greeted with an empty room. The champagne was poured and sitting on the bar, but she needed blood. Walking to the fridge, she withdrew a bag of B+. Tearing off the plastic top of the tube she drank as she walked to the door leading to the patio. When she opened it, the warm, moist air from outside swirled around her, and she smiled to herself. She was silently grateful to the universe for letting her be there. If she hadn't left Mystic Falls with Klaus that day, she wouldn't have seen London. She wouldn't have had her first run on a horse. She wouldn't have gotten to throw vervain and glass in Katherine's face, wouldn't have cut loose and made friends with Rebekah, and, most certainly, wouldn't have had so much fun with Klaus. She dwelled momentarily on the last part. She worried that she was in for a rude awakening when they returned home, and Klaus went back to business as usual.

"You are beautiful, Caroline," he said from his bedroom doorway.

She had been distracted and hadn't heard him open his door. She rolled her eyes with a smile as she peered over at him. He was walking toward her and her breath caught in her throat. She knew he was well built, but shirtless, _he_ was the beautiful one. His approach was confident and his eyes shone with the lustful feelings her attire stirred within him. She could almost feel heat coming from them. Returning to her blood bag she chugged down the rest and walked away from his approach into the kitchen. Dropping the empty bag into the trash bin, she lifted her gaze to him. He was already a few step out onto the patio.

Caroline took a deep breath and fetched the champagne flutes. On her way out she realized that the music's beat was a slow pulse with hypnotic vocals that exuded a dark, sensual tone. Caroline's heart jumped into her throat. In that instant, she realized that she was intentionally walking into a situation that could and would shift into something more than a friendly swim. She hesitated at the patio door and eyed the threshold. She felt the cool glass in her fingers, saw the ripples in the water, and sensed her heart fluttering in her chest. Looking over her shoulder, she glanced at her bedroom door. 'I could just put these down. Yell to him that I changed my mind, and go to bed. I could. It would be easy.' She was torn.

She spotted Klaus leaning over the railing looking out over the Miami Beach skyline. 'He really has been wonderful and, God help me, he's just so gorgeous!' Taking a deep breath, she walked out onto the patio.

Klaus turned to watch her approach. He briefly felt as if he were dreaming. The sight of her mostly exposed body approaching him, the sway of her hips, and the tantalizing color of her lips had his skin prickling with heat. Something in her had shifted as well. When he had left his room and saw her feeding in the doorway, she had seemed shy, bashful even, but that wasn't in her demeanor anymore. Klaus could only describe her expression as darkly playful. When she stopped next to him by the pool, he took the flute from her.

Caroline raised her glass, "Frenemies."

He smiled amused by her toast and pleased by her admission that they were no longer just enemies, "Frenemies."

Clinking their glasses, they both drank. Their eyes held each other for a long moment before Klaus reached forward and took Caroline's flute from her. He sat both down on the railing and gazed back at her. Caroline could almost feel the sexual tension on her skin and was sure he was going to kiss her at any moment. He was scooting slowly into her space and his eyes gazed hungrily down at her mouth. Her breathing hitched, and she felt like her body wanted to move without her permission towards him. Klaus' face was coming closer to hers inch by inch. Her eyes were about to slide shut when she spotted a playful smirk on his face. She opened her eyes quickly, and she realized what he was doing.

"Don't you da-"

She didn't have time to finish as Klaus wrapped his arms tightly around her and fell back into the pool taking her with him. She let out a short yelp just before they both splashed into the water.

Caroline took a deep breath as she surfaced. She glared over at Klaus as he grinned over at her, wiping water from his eyes. He lifted an eyebrow at her, and Caroline witnessed a shift in his expression. He swam toward her, and she suddenly felt like she was being hunted. She gave a playful yelp and tried to swim away from him toward the deep end. He caught up to her quickly, but she dove down beneath him at the last moment, giving his leg a hard tug pulling him under. While he was distracted, she fled to the shallows. Caroline was only a couple yards from the stairs when she felt his hand wrap around her ankle and pull her backwards. He continued to pull her to him by next grasping her knee and then the thigh of her other leg. Before she had really registered what was happening, Klaus had wrapped her legs around his hips supporting her in his arms.

Caroline lifted her arms to swipe her hair out of her face and run her hand over her face. Her brain silently purred at the sensation of him resting between her legs. She lifted her eyes to look up at him. The hunt was still present in his eyes and the look he gave her made her feel like a small, furry animal hypnotized by headlights. Eyes flicking down to his mouth, her breathing picked up at the sight of his dark, wet lips parted before her. She ran her hands up his arms and settled them over his chest. In response, his hands moved along her body; one taking to exploring the back of her thigh and the other wrapping around her waist pulling her closer into him. She released a hard breath when she felt the familiar pressure of his hardened length rubbing against her core. She bit her lip and ground slightly against him.

Klaus growled out his breath as he heatedly pushed forward pressing his lips into hers. The feel of her pressed against him and her soft lips moving hungrily with his was euphoric. He opened his mouth for a ragged breath and Caroline's tongue swirled in tasting him. He groaned low into her mouth as he returned her kiss with fervor. He slowly walked them to the edge of the pool where he pressed her against the side allowing his hands to roam freely.

Caroline's hands lifted from his chest and spun around his neck. With one hand she curled her fingers into his hair gripping it slightly and making him moan. The sound sent an aching cramp swirling to her lower belly and her skin suddenly felt very hot. She whimpered and tightened her legs around him wantonly rubbing against him. Her actions shifted something in Klaus and suddenly he was pressing her harder into the wall moving with her rhythmic hip motions. He pulled her away from the pool wall only long enough for him to tug at the strings of her bikini top. Once he had her settled back against the wall he pulled back with great difficulty and tortuously slow peeled the top off of her.

Like before, Caroline felt empowered by the impact she had on Klaus. His eyes glazed at the sight of her perky and bare before him, and she felt the hot sensitivity rise within her. Not taking her eyes from his face, her hand slowly caressed a path down his chest, over his stomach, and down under the waistline of his trunks to wrap tightly around his cock. Klaus mouth shot open as the air spilled out of his chest, "Caroline." The space between his brow pinched together, and he pressed his forehead against hers. She slowly began to move her hand up and down the soft length of him. Klaus' jaw clenched and a breath hissed out between his teeth. Lifting his hand, he firmly grasped the whole of her breast as he roughly nuzzled her head to the side to get better access to her neck. Caroline let out a high moan as she felt his mouth tasting, kissing, and nibbling the skin beneath her jaw and under her ear, and, still, his mouth traveled lower. She continued her ministrations on him as he did this, to which he enthusiastically responded, but she had to stop when Klaus' hands snaked between her legs and around her ass lifting her up and out of the water a bit. Caroline had barely adjusted to his sudden movement when his mouth wrapped around her now air-exposed nipple.

She could hardly breath. The air she pulled in didn't seem to be enough as she panted. "Klaus," she moaned as he continued to kiss her. Gripping his hair once more she yanked his head away from her making him growl deeply before she smashed her mouth against his. Realizing that he seemed to enjoy the roughness, she bit down roughly into his lip her fangs dropping just enough to make a small cut. The taste of his blood between them sent them both into a groaning frenzy. Klaus dropped her down from her elevated position and pulled her hips toward him possessively. She was shocked to realize that she was already climbing. Mewling his name, she raised her knee between legs creating friction for him once again.

"Fuck, Caroline," he whispered as his hand slipped down and dipped into her swimsuit bottom. Even in the pool, Klaus could feel the difference between the water and the wetness coming from her. The slick texture coated his fingers as they moved in tight circles over her clit. He was so beyond ready for her and by the feel and sound of her, so was she ready for him.

Caroline's moans steadily grew louder. Her body was on fire, and she savored the building pressure within her. She was so close now and could barely think. When he slid his fingers further back and slowly glided them into her folds, her whole body tensed and shuddered as she came around him calling out loudly.

Klaus let out a low, guttural moan as he felt the rhythmic tightening of her climax on his hand and knew he couldn't wait a moment longer to have her. Claiming her mouth once again, he picked her up wrapping her legs around his hips, and walked with her to the steps. Stepping out, he strode confidently toward the door and to his bedroom.

* * *

**There you go! Some follow through. From me to you. LOL. The next chapter will pick up where this left off, so not to worry. The smut does not fade to black.  
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**Please leave a review! As you can see, it means faster posting.**

**Expect the next chapter by Tuesday (I'm going out of town this weekend to visit family) or sooner.**

**UPDATE: WOW! I barely had any internet the whole time I was gone! I'm so sorry, guys. Thank you so much for your patience. NOW, I know I've been saying "I'll post tomorrow" for a few days, so I won't say it again. I sat down to write and realized I was out of touch with the story, so I took some time to reread it and to rework the plot line for the next couple chapters. I'm feeling pretty confident now, and I have no plans tomorrow, so I should be able to get moving on writing again. Sorry again for the huge wait!  
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	16. Chapter 16

**I am so sorry this took so long, guys. I guess I was fooling myself by thinking that I would get any writing done while on vacation. ****I do want to apologize in advance for any future delays. I have a very unpredictable work schedule (on call) that will probably be coming into effect soon, so I'll try my best to get the next updates posted with some regularity, but we'll see. Work has to come first. AND, to add to that, I'm sick, so all I can say is that I will try REALLY REALLY hard.**

**For the next two chapters there will probably be a bunch of shifts between Klaroline and the Mystic Falls squad. Sorry, necessary evil.  
**

**THANK YOU so much to all of my reviewers! Y'all make me so so so so happy. I went back and reread this fanfic to reacquaint myself with it, and I shuttered at the first chapters. Hopefully, I am improving as I go, because that was terrifying. ;)**

**WARNING: Smut alert. If you aren't into it and prefer a fade to black from what happened at the end of the last chapter (and to not read about the beginning, middle, and end of their sexy encounter), then skip to the next page break.  
**

* * *

Her body was on fire, and while her brain swirled with thoughts, not one of them were organized enough to do any good. All she could feel was his wet, hot skin on hers and his body pressing firmly between her thighs. It was if there was no air; though they both pulled copious amounts into their lungs with each breath. Had you asked Caroline the week before what she thought she would be doing on this night, she would not say that she would be curling her fingers into his dirty blond hair and breathing in the wild scent emanating from his drenched body while being carried towards his bedroom.

Klaus glided with her toward the raised bed, his mouth caressing and warming the skin on her neck, but before he could place her down onto the soft bedding, she untangled her legs from him and slid her feet to the floor. Standing before him, her large blue eyes slid up to examine him. Her breath was still labored, but it calmed slightly as she took in the man standing in front of her. His skin prickled beneath her hands as she slowly grazed her fingertips down from his hair and over the muscles taut across his chest. Small drops of water glittered on their skin and snaked down in shiny lines. Flicking her eyes to the bed, a furrow appeared between her brows. When Caroline's eyes came back to his, they shone with uncertainty.

He watched her face alter, and he could almost feel the apprehension coming off of her. "Caroline?" He said lowly with concern painted on his features and a touch of disappointment in the back of his mind.

"I . . . " she started with a small shake of her head glancing again to the duvet.

Klaus let out a small, almost non-existent, frustrated sigh knowing that once again, he would have to stop himself. The feel of her under his hands, the sight of her wet hair plastered against her flawless skin, and the texture of her lips was intoxicating, and he didn't know if he would be able to walk away if she asked. Preparing himself for the let down, he dropped his arms to his side, squared his shoulders, and met her stare with his own.

Caroline blurted, "We are soaking wet. We need to towel off or something before we get in," she rambled a bit pointing at the expensive bedding and back at the water accumulating on the floor beneath them.

His raised an eyebrow, and, upon realizing she was being serious, he burst into a fit of laughter.

"What?" She asked with a small smile peaking across her mouth as she joined in his amusement of her odd concern. Tilting her head slightly, she removed her earrings and tossed them to the table.

Pushing down his laughter, he swiftly bent down to lift her bridal style. A brief yelp escaped her lips as he took the last few steps toward the bed and threw her down unceremoniously with a slight spin, so she now looked down her cheeks at him standing at her feet. "There is a dry bed next door, Love. I don't think toweling off will be necessary," he teased with a smirk.

Caroline huffed but was silenced from making a retort when she saw the way his eyes unashamedly scoured her mostly exposed body. An evil thought spiraled into her brain. Smiling coyly, she lifted her hands over her head and stretched her body elongating her flat stomach and restlessly moving her legs against the soft cotton of the duvet.

The sight of her wet and squirming against the white covers beneath her, and the bright red of her lips and remaining bikini piece made her look even more the temptress. Looking at her, he felt his control slipping away. He had wanted her for so long, and here she was. Laid out before him like a feast waiting to be devoured.

Air sharply fell from her lips as she watched the change in him. Before, it was as if he stood admiring an elegant art piece, but now he stared down at her with a predatory gaze that triggered a shiver down her spine.

Placing a knee on the mattress between hers and his hands down on either side of her hips, Klaus prowled toward her in a crawl. Reaching her chest, he slowly lowered himself to kiss the soft hollow just beneath her breast bone.

The soft contact sent Caroline's breathing into a desperate frenzy once again. She shot up into a sitting position causing him to swiftly pull back a bit to avoid a collision. Their faces mere inches apart she met his eyes seriously, "On one condition," she said.

He searched her face momentarily barely able to take his eyes off of her lips. "What?"

Her words came out clear, if not breathy, "Don't make me regret it. _Only_ if it's real, Klaus. I _only_ want you if it's real. If you'll try." He opened his mouth to respond but her fingers landed across it before he could speak. "Don't say it unless it's true."

Her familiar words rang in his ears, but unlike before he knew the answer to this question. Grasping the hand at his mouth, he planted small kisses on her fingertips before glancing back up at her. "It has never been more real for me, Love."

Her eyes flicked back and forth between his before a wide small spread across her face. "Good, because this is _so_ happening!"

Klaus inhaled sharply as Caroline jumped forward her lips crashing into his roughly and pulled him down onto her. His hands immediately found her body as he settled down between the legs that firmly pressed and wrapped around him. His eyes were tightly closed as he savored the feel of her slender body and eager hands. Taking her lip into his mouth he sucked hard, relishing in the low hum that she released. Lifting his fingers to gently grip her chin, he released her mouth and lightly pushed her face to the side. His mouth fell to her throat where he tasted and nibbled her skin. The hunger within him creeping in as he indulged in scraping his teeth across her neck.

Caroline's moans were deep and full of the air that flew in and out of her lungs. She felt entirely at his mercy and was ready to change that. Using more strength than was probably needed, Caroline wrapped one leg around one of his and pushed off with the other sending them rolling.

Klaus was thrown by their sudden change in position, his eyes widening slightly at the strong, swift movement. A tempestuous smirk appeared on her face as she sat upright on top of him in a straddle. Feeling as if she were too far away, he followed her only to have her hands on his chest pushing him down again roughly. She lifted off of him slightly, and he let out a jagged breath as her knee appeared between his legs and her thigh slowly slid down over the hard desire that sat ready beneath the swim trunks. Her mouth lowered to find his chest and his voice erupted from him as her tongue left a hot trail across his skin. The sweet friction caused by her thigh, then her hip, and then stomach continued as she resumed her travel downward. Her kisses were slow, and she released a moan of her own as his hand made it's way into her wet hair. Moving her other leg over to join the first between his legs, Caroline finished her ministrations with a long swirl of her tongue into his naval. His breath came out nearly as a hiss from between clenched teeth. The act had his mind swirling with other places below his waist he would like her lips and tongue to be. As if answering a prayer, he felt a tug on his trunks.

Caroline watched his face hotly as she swiftly untied the shorts. Bending down she landed a kiss dangerously low, just below the waistline of the clothing, but instead of continuing down, she crept back off the bed and stood before him. Lifting her hand she beckoned him follow with her finger.

Klaus was beyond ready. His mind was clouded as he sped of the bed to join her standing tall between her and the bed. He reached eagerly for the ties on either hip that secured her bikini to her body but was slapped away by Caroline. She was testing him again. A sharp edge came to the look in his eyes as he peered menacingly up at her. He was about to demonstrate to her who was in charge when she curled her thumbs into his waistband and, while holding his eyes with her own, bit her plump, red lip. As her hands slowly pulled the clothing down, he lost his train of thought and could only see the gorgeous blonde that descended lower and lower down his body peppering kisses once again down his torso. He growled out in appreciates when she sucked a bit of skin over his ribcage into her mouth and bit down hard, but harmlessly.

Caroline giggled at his reaction. Falling completely to her knees, she finished removing Klaus' only piece of clothing. After taking a moment to admire his aroused state, she looked up into his eyes trying to push every bit of need she had into her eyes. Again, having an evil idea, she struggled to keep an empowered smile from her face.

Her looking up at him inches from his cock had his eyes glazed and his breath caught, but, when her eyes reddened and the veins beneath them swelled and darkened, he let out a hungry groan. He forced his eyes to stay open as those delicious red lips wrapped around him and began moving up and down his shaft.

She resumed for a moment, but at the sound of him moaning her name, she pulled back in a tease no longer sporting her vampiric eyes.

Klaus was having none of that. Grabbing her arm he lifted her up and claimed her mouth. She gasped shocked at his urgency and strength as he grasped her by the back of her neck keeping her where he wanted her. She felt the rushed movement of his free hand as it shot down and ripped off the last remaining clothing she had been wearing.

Wrapping a hand under her thigh, Klaus hiked up her leg and spun, lowering her down onto the bed. He was not new to pleasure, but the raw need Caroline was bringing out in him bore no comparison. Locking eyes with her, he lowered his hand down dipping into her core. The wetness pooled there made him feel weak in anticipation.

The slight moan he expelled upon feeling her sent her body into a blind desire. Lifting her lips to his ear her words came out husky and uninhibited, "Now. I want you now. I'm ready for you."

A slow, deep growl came from his mouth and his eyes shifted to yellow as he succumbed to that animal part of him that wanted her. Capturing her mouth and pulling her hips up close to his, he pushed into her.

Caroline's eyes shot open, and she gasped out in pleasure. He filled her completely as his thrusts rocked her. "Oh god!" He smiled victoriously down at her, but she was too distracted to care if she was giving him what he wanted. Wanting to grasp something, one hand flew to his back and one into his hair. Remembering that he seemed to like it before, she gripped his hair roughly with a tug causing his head to spin slightly.

Releasing a groan laced with pain, he pushed into her hard in retaliation.

Caroline cried out in pleasure as his deep thrust filled her up hitting that hidden spot within her that made her shudder and curl. Understanding the game, she dug her fingernail into his back until, in his discomfort and arousal, he punished her again. Climbing high her eyes looked up at him into the hard lust that smoldered there. Another push and her hands gripped at his lower back, her hips grinding to meet each thrust. Her eyes fell closed as her climb was nearly peaking. Klaus stopped from above her and in anger she glared up at him.

He ducked down low to her ear beginning to move again but slowly. "Look at me, Love. Keep your eyes on me."

His voice alone made her feel weak, and her legs began to shiver. He pulled back and it wasn't until her stare returned that he quickened his pace. Caroline's moans became yells as she got close. Every time she would forget and look away, he would slow, infuriating her to the point of letting out a few frustrated growls of her own.

Klaus loved watching her. Seeing her desperately grab at the duvet and buck beneath him, hearing her moan and cry his name, he didn't know how much longer he could wait. The pressure building within him was unbearable and all encompassing.

Caroline voice rang high as she felt it, the dizzying euphoria as she sailed to her climax. "I'm coming," she whispered repeatedly as she peaked grinding up onto him.

A loud groan came from deep in Klaus' throat at the sight of her coming for him and the feeling of her convulsions around him. "Caroline!" He whispered frantically as he followed her over thrusting slower but harder as the pressure released into her. His mouth fell to hers and he took her mouth to his like a thirsty man takes water as his high quickly peaked and then slowly tapered down.

Breathing heavily, he lingered for a moment before softly lowering his weight down onto her, and then gripping her tightly, he rolled them over so she lay straddling him from above. They lay there silently for many moments before they had recovered enough to speak.

Caroline giggled, "Goodnight, Klaus."

Hearing her joke, he erupted into laughter. She laughed with him for a moment before sitting up lazily. She reached for her tangled, half-dried locks and sighed, "I don't know about you, but I need a shower."

"Feeling dirty, Sweetheart?" He asked suggestively from beneath her secretly admiring the deep flush he had put into her cheeks.

She laughed again. "Well, I did just have sex with _you_," she teased.

He smirked, sitting up. "You wound me," he mumbled faking hurt and leaning forward to kiss her.

Softly releasing his lips, she grinned and whispered, "I doubt it."

* * *

The moon was high and bright in the sky as Elena meandered her way through the woods. She hadn't left the boarding house with any destination in mind, but her feet seemed to be carrying her in a direction just fine without one. The house had become a bit crowded as of late, what with everyone bunking there in attempt to provide a united front against the mindfuck that was Silas. She didn't want to sit around anymore listening to Katherine and Damon bicker. Or Katherine and Elijah bicker. Or Katherine and Stephan bicker. And, she was definitely over watching Katherine shamelessly flirt with Matt. If she had to hear her mention how blue his eyes were again, she was going to gag. The house was boring, and she wanted out of it.

The ground squished beneath her feet, and she was lost in thought as her shin collided with something hard in her path. Looking down, she realized she had unintentionally walked to the Mystic Falls Cemetery and had collided with one of its many tomb stones. Shaking off the pain, she continued to walk. It seemed strange that she would end up there. She briefly thought about the many times she had been to this cemetery and remembered she hadn't yet seen Jeremy's grave. She didn't care to see, but she didn't care to not see it either. Having nothing better to do, she wondered over towards it curiously.

Just before reaching it, her phone rang. The bright light of the screen made her eyes squint slightly as her finger hit the answer button. "Took you long enough."

Matt's tired voice responded, "Where are you? I'm on my way back from the grill. Elijah has news and asked if I knew where you were."

"I'm at the cemetery," she replied removing the few strands of hair the breeze kept sending into her eyes. Once again, she found herself tempted to hang up and ignore her summons, but Elijah's threat was still fresh in her head.

"All right, I'll be there in a few. I'm actually really close."

"This is Mystic Falls. _Everything_ is really close," she grumbled.

Ending the call, she took the last few steps toward Jeremy's tombstone. It was pristine compared to the other tombstones, but the face of it was mostly blank. She stared apathetically for a few moments.

"Brother and friend? What genius came up with that one?" She scoffed with a shake of her head. "They could have at least made you _sound_ interesting."

The crack of a broken stick sounded behind Elena. Jerking her head around she peered into the trees ahead of her. The sounds continued and got louder with each step taken by her unknown companion. Whoever was in the cemetery with her was getting closer. Elena shifted to stand defensively and waited.

Out from between two trees popped Bonnie's small figure. Elena let out a small sigh as she relaxed her pose. "Bonnie, there you are. We've been looking for you." She waited for the petite brunette to respond, but Bonnie was eerily quiet as she walked toward her.

"You shouldn't be here," Bonnie said with an uncharacteristic monotone to her voice.

Raising an eyebrow, Elena asked, "Why?"

The witch stopped a few feet from her, her voice firm but unemotional, "Leave." The breeze seemed to change abruptly to a strong wind making their hair fly all over atop their heads.

Elena scoffed unimpressed, "Why? Bonnie, what's going on with you?" She looked hard at her once-friend for a moment before realizing that Bonnie's eyes seemed unfocused and lazy. The wind roared for a few more seconds and then, suddenly, halted.

Bonnie lifted her hand into the air. Elena watched confused until a million needles of pain sparkled off behind her eyes and deep at the crown of her head. She screamed out grasping at her head in vain.

"You are not welcome here," Bonnie's strangely dead voice rang out as she twisted her wrist sending Elena to the ground as her screams grew more desperate.

"Bonnie! Stop! Please! Stop!" Elena shrieked.

* * *

Matt could hear her screams as soon as he opened the truck door. His heart nearly jumped into his throat as he threw himself in the direction of her pained voice. Sprinting like never before around the tombstones, he came upon the scene. Elena's screams had taken on a strangled air and blood flowed copiously from her nose.

"Bonnie, stop!" He yelled, but Bonnie didn't seem to hear him. Matt watched Elena's eyes rolled up into her head and her body seemed to seize. In a moment of panic, he picked up a short, thick bit of fallen branch and whacked it into the back of Bonnie's head. Unconscious, she fell to the ground in a puddle, her brown hair sprawling out around her.

Matt rushed to Elena, his breath labored from the adrenaline rush. "Elena?" He said lifting her head in his hands. Her eyelids didn't move and her body had become still. Conflicted, he gazed back and forth between Bonnie and Elena. Standing, he scurried over to Bonnie and checked her pulse. Once he was satisfied, he made sure her head wasn't bleeding. Bonnie was fine, but Elena wasn't. Nodding to himself, he mumbled sadly to her, "Sorry, Bon." Within moments, Elena was in his arms, and he was running back to the truck and racing toward the boarding house.

* * *

"Stefan! Damon!" Matt called as he burst through the doors of the boarding house. Turning the corner to the sitting room he laid Elena down on the sofa and stepped back. His hands went to his hair, he didn't know what to do.

"What happened?" Stefan asked when he strode into the room, his eyes locking on Elena. Kneeling down by the couch he looked at her still bloody face dumbfounded.

"Bonnie. I went to pick her up," he babbled gesturing toward Elena's still unconscious body, "And I heard her screaming. Bonnie was doing the head thing to her. Her-her nose started bleeding and her eyes rolled and she had a seizure so I knocked her out. Bonnie. I knocked Bonnie out. When I got to Elena, she was like this." Matt's eyes were big as he tried to not pace back and forth in front of the couch.

"Okay, Matt. I can hear her heart, she'll be fine. She just needs blood. Go grab a few bags from downstairs." Stefan sounded calm and decisive as he quickly gave the instructions. Matt hurriedly ran to the basement, while he stayed to try and wake her up. The skin between his brow furrowed as he looked down at her. He had lied. Stephan couldn't hear her heart, but she wasn't greying, so he had to hope. "Come on Elena, wake up. Elena. Hey," he said lightly shaking her and stroking her forehead.

Matt returned a few minutes later. Wasting no time, Stefan ripped the top off of a tube. "Open her mouth," he directed Matt. Reaching for her, Matt pulled her jaw down parting her lips and teeth. Stefan pushed the tube into her mouth and squeezed the bag in his hands. Blood flowed up through the tube and into Elena's mouth. "Come on, Elena. Drink."

Nothing happened immediately. Looking around, Matt asked, "Where is everyone? Elijah is the one that called me."

"They're on their way. They found a mass grave of witches. I don't know anything else. She's drinking!" He lowly exclaimed with a sigh as Elena began to swallow the blood that had pooled in her mouth. He stopped squeezing the bag and waited until he heard her breathing start again to apply pressure again to the plastic.

Halfway through her second bag, the front door opened as Damon, Katherine, and Elijah entered. Damon's entry into the sitting room was uncanny when compared to Stefan's.

"What happened?" He asked loudly, his pale eyes large. The sound of his voice seemed to rouse Elena slightly. Stefan pulled away the blood bag as her eyes fluttered open.

Stefan leaned back as Damon kneeled next to him near her face. "Well, maybe she can tell us."

Damon caressed her cheek, "Elena?"

Lifting her hand she swatted him away, "Personal space, Damon." Her voice was groggy as her fingers waved back in forth in front of his face.

Damon smiled and stood up, "She's fine." He turned on his heel and strode over to the dry bar.

With a shake of his head, Stefan turned back to her, "Can you tell us what happened?"

She seemed to struggle to pull herself into a sit, and, as soon as she felt secure, she reached forward for the remaining blood Stefan still held. Taking it from him she slurped it down greedily. When she had consumed every last drop, she looked around at everyone. Katherine and Elijah still stood near the arched entryway of the sitting room, and Matt sat on the other sofa next to a crouched Stefan. "Bonnie has lost her shit."

Elijah made his way over to the armchair and planted himself down into it, "Could you elaborate?"

"I went for a walk, and I ended up at the cemetery. I was just standing there. Bonnie walked out of the trees and told me that I needed to leave. I asked why, but she just told me that I shouldn't be there and _ordered_ me to leave. When I didn't, she witchy migrained me," Elena's voice dripped with a hint of bitterness. "And it wasn't subtle. It was a full out assault on my dome," she stated pointing to her head with a small cringe remembering the intense pain. "And she didn't look right. I've known her for a long time, and this was just . . . nothing. There was no facial expression. Her eyes were just dead. Her voice too. She spoke all monotone."

"Creepy," Katherine chimed in from the doorway.

"Super creepy. It was like it wasn't her. She wanted me to leave, and when I didn't, she tried to kill me. Just like that. A, then B."

Stefan looked up at Matt, "And you said that she didn't respond when you tried to stop her?"

He perked from his place on the couch, "Yeah. She didn't even twitch. And, come to think of it, her eyes were unfocused looking."

"Hmm," Elijah hummed from his chair causing everyone's eyes to fly towards him. "I can't help but think that Ms. Bennett is acting as a guard dog of sorts."

Damon spoke, "At the_ cemetery_? You think Silas is _that_ cliche to be hiding out in a cemetery?"

"That makes sense," Elena rasped a little, "All she wanted was for me to leave. And she sought me out; I didn't bump into her or anything. She's not in her right mind, and it would make sense that if Silas is at all still weak, he would need protection. He's messed with her mind before."

"That's unfortunate," Katherine stated sitting down on the nearest available seat: Elijah's lap. She ignored him as he raised his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration.

Elijah's voice was scolding, "Katherine-"

"-Not only do we have to worry about Silas, but now there's a Bennett witch to deal with," she finished.

Stefan sighed at the obstacles piling up, "If Silas is at the cemetery, he could be hiding in any number of tombs. With Bonnie around attacking anyone who gets too close, we don't have the time to go searching for the right one."

Matt huffed out a breath, "I don't know how much space this guy needs, but there aren't many places left in there with anything more than room to squat anymore. They've filled up. If he's up and about, there are only a few places big enough for someone to stay long term. And half of those are falling apart."

"That's true, there is only one really that is still in good shape with a working door and it's in the very center of the cemetery! It would be perfect for hiding," Elena chirped with a cunning smile.

"Why do teenagers think it's fun to hang out in cemeteries? I don't get it," Katherine asked Elijah as she peered down at his exasperated face.

"Remove. Yourself. Immediately," he growled out holding onto his last remaining shred of restraint. This woman would be the end of his sanity.

Ignoring them, Stefan and Damon shared a look as they did a mental inventory of the larger tombs near the center of the grounds. "Fell's tomb," Damon confirmed.

* * *

Caroline's eyebrows furrowed as she slowly awoke to a face full of sunlight. Groaning, she rolled over in her bed and snuggled into the warm pillow next to her. It only took a moment for her to realize that the "pillow" was breathing. She heard a sleepy intake of breath as the pillow wrapped it's arm around her and stuck it's nose into her hair. Her eyes shot open, though she didn't move. For a moment, she waited to freak out but wasn't as disturbed as she thought she'd be. His skin was warm, his scent comforting, and the arm around her felt firm and protective. 'How am I not having a panic attack right now? I slept with Klaus last night! And it was . . . fantastic. Just wait, I'm going to freak out very soon.' Experimentally, she moved her hand around him from where it laid on his naked stomach. 'Any minute now . . . '

"I will admit," his voice rumbled with a hint of a smile from above her, "I half expected you to leap away from me the moment you awoke."

She laughed lightly, "I more than half expected it. Just wait, it might still happen. Maybe I'm in denial." Turning her head up, she rested her chin on his chest and gazed up at his smirking face.

Klaus waited a few seconds. "Well?" He asked amused with a lift of his eyebrow.

"Just wait, it's very possible I'm in shock," she quipped and grinned widely.

* * *

**I know they are a little cutesy, but this is a calm before the storm. And sorry for the errors, my edits weren't very involved this time around. This cold is knocking me out, but I wanted to throw you guys a chapter before I zonked out again today, so please forgive errors.  
**

_**Pretty please review!**_

**UPDATE: So, here's the deal . . . I pondered whether or not I wanted to continue on posting the last few chapters the way I've been doing it, or if I wanted to write the rest all in one go, and this is what I've decided: I'm going to take a week/week and a half to write the rest of the story. Then, I will post the chapters in quick succession only delaying chapters for edits. I think if I do it this way, I'll really be able to make the ending interesting and cohesive. So, there will be a delay, but when I do post, you'll be able to expect updates every day or so.  
**

_**I'll see you soon with the final chapters of Protection and Betrayal!**_


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey guys! Sorry for the delay . . . again. But this was the last time! The story is done, and the rest will be posted over the course of the next week.  
**

**Thank you to all of my reviewers! You guys keep me going!**

**FYI When I started this story, Season 4 Episode 15 had just aired, and I wrote it trying to use only the information I had before that point. There are a few references here and there to latter episodes, but I kinda take liberties with the information that hadn't yet been revealed. For instance, Silas is not a Stefan look-a-like and has a different, yet very similar, set of abilities. Things like that. Don't get mad, if things are different. I'm not a canon fan at all, so I decided to branch out.**

**ALSO! As we are returning to Mystic Falls, there will be more chapters on the rest of the gang. Don't worry, Klaroline is still the focus of the story.**

**ALERT: I do recommend, for those of you that have been waiting on me through the hiatus, to re-familiarize yourself with the last few chapters (especially chapters 13 &15). There will be referenced information from those chapters in the coming updates.**

* * *

"Just wait, it's very possible I'm in shock," she quipped and grinned widely.

"Well, then, maybe I should take advantage of this delay in your good sense," Klaus said quirking his mouth up.

Lifting an eyebrow, Caroline examined him, "Meaning wha-AH!" She yelped with a jovial smile.

The Hybrid had turned them over suddenly, lifting her leg up over his hip. From his place atop her he sidled his body between her legs and kissed her playfully.

She could not help the laugh that erupted from her chest as his lips continued to quickly hop around her body moving from her lips to jaw to neck, his surprisingly soft stubble tickling against her skin. "My good sense is back," she giggled.

His head popped up from where it had dipped to snuggle between her breasts, "Well, that won't do at all." With a devilish smirk, his head disappeared beneath the plush white blankets. She could feel him lower himself down and nearly gasped when she felt his mouth on her inner thigh, his strong hands firmly grasping her by each leg and yanking her closer to his face. Feeling the tug, Caroline's hands shot out to grip the sheets beneath her. His hold on her legs and hips was firm and consistent as he continued to kiss and lick his way up one thigh. His plump, warm lips were mere inches from reaching her most sensitive spot when he popped over to the other leg and began the journey again.

Caroline growled out in frustration. "I hate you."

The dark chuckle that Klaus released spat hot puffs of air onto her swollen flesh making her shiver. Releasing her grip she moved her hand to his head, her fingers curling smoothly into his hair as he continued his work. He was so close . . .

_Ring Ring_

Caroline bellowed out a frustrated growl. "Seriously?!"

Hearing the sound, he wiggled up out of the blankets, "That's mine."

"What? No! Ignore it," she whined.

Laughing, he checked the screen, "It's Elijah, Love. I have to answer."

She released another loud groan and, lifting a pillow, covered her face with it. "You suck."

Smirking, he pushed the answer button. "This better be of astronomical importance," he said smoothly into the phone.

"It is. I assure you."

"Let's hear it then," he sighed trying to not think about the very naked woman he still had pinned beneath him.

"It's confirmed. Silas has Miss Bennett. She nearly killed Elena yesterday."

"What?!" Caroline yelled throwing the pillow off of her.

"Not to worry, Miss Forbes. Mr. Donavon was able to remove Elena from the situation before any permanent damage was done. From the description that both the boy and Elena offered, it seems Bonnie is so heavily under Silas' influence, she was unable to be roused by her friends. She is but a shell of her former self."

Caroline's eyes were bulging as she listened, "Oh my god."

"This is all very heartbreaking, but we all but assumed this would happen," Klaus drawled ignoring how Caroline narrowed her eyes and squirmed out from under him angrily. "What new information do you have?"

"It was the nature of the attack that had us intrigued. Elena did not seek out Bonnie. She was merely wandering through Mystic Falls Cemetery when Bonnie approached _her_. Elena says that Bonnie had issued a single command. To leave. That she was not welcome there. When Elena did not cooperate, Bonnie acted without hesitation."

A small smile quirked up the side of Klaus' mouth as he sat up on the edge of the bed, "Well, it sounds like our little Bennett witch is guarding something."

"Indeed. The lot of us have spoken, and it seems there is only one real possibility as to where someone could realistically hide in Mystic Falls Cemetery: One of the larger tombs near the center that has held up against time."

"Fell's Tomb," Caroline confirmed remembering the funeral her friends had thrown on her 18th birthday. Her eyes shot up to meet Klaus' gaze upon remembering what else had happened that night.

"Precisely, Miss Forbes. Unfortunately, there is no way to confirm this suspicion without giving away our intentions."

"It sounds like a promising option. Anything else?" The Hyrbid asked lifting the bedside clock to read the time.

"Yes, we found a mass grave of witches. Twelve witches, to be exact."

"You certainly have been busy," Klaus responded.

"Katerina, Damon, and I went to this Professor Shane's office and have discovered that this massacre was the last in making an expression triangle. Everything is set for Silas and Bonnie to move forward. They need only the full moon and, according to our findings, the witching hour. If we are to move against them, it will need to be before then."

"Well, that doesn't leave us much time. We will leave shortly. Make the call."

"Very well. Come to the Salvatore's boarding house. I will see you soon, Niklaus," Elijah said before hanging up.

Klaus set the phone down on the nightstand beside Caroline's bed. Before turning, the slightest of cringes crinkled the corners of his eyes. He barely glimpsed her before a large white pillow collided with his face. "Love—"

Her high voice rang out across the room, "—Don't you 'love' me! Could you be a bigger asshole? That's my friend! _Your _Bennett witch." She scoffed irate by his cavalier attitude. Her best friend had been mind-jacked, and he couldn't care less. "She is not _your_ property."

"Caroline," his voice cooed, "Silas needed her for the spell. She was missing. It was easily deduced that she would be in league with him."

"She's _not_ in league! She's _not_ the enemy! She's being used! Don't you _dare_ play this off like she is in some way responsible for any of this or that you will get any support from us if you try to hurt her in _any_ way," she yelled.

"Whether intentional or not, she is a part of Silas' plan. A plan we need to make sure doesn't come to fruition. Let's not forget that all evidence points to your friend taking part in the massacre of twelve witches."

"She's not herself! Elijah, everyone, said so. She killed people, but she wasn't in her right mind. She didn't know what she was doing. How many people have you killed? How many hybrids did you kill? Did_ you_ know what you were doing?"

Klaus stood awkwardly not knowing how to respond. "Caroline—"

She crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one hip, "—You can't kill my friend, Klaus."

His exasperation showed on his face, "I have no intention of killing her. If you would just take down the hysterics a notch, I will tell you the plan."

"Don't patronize me," she spat pacing the room like a caged lion.

Klaus' eyes turned to ice as he stepped in front of her. "Don't pretend you can give me orders." His words came out cool and smooth smothered with hostility, his jaw tense. His gaze was menacing as he peered down at her.

Caroline didn't flinch. "You don't scare me."

Frustrated, his breath seethed out through his nose while his hands clenched at his sides, "I think it's time you start packing your bags, Sweetheart. We have a plane to catch." He turned taking steps toward the door.

"No," she argued crossing her arms over her chest. Klaus' eyes flicked to hers at this act of defiance, his walk halted. "You can't just excuse me from your presence like some lacky. I want to know the plan," she diverted. "How do you intend on keeping our presence secret from a telepath? You say you brought us here because he would be able to read the plan off you," she released a breathy laugh. "_Us_," she corrected. "He'd be able to read that the cure isn't destroyed, yet, in the end, we are going there anyway? So, what's the big plan, Boss? Even if we are able to keep it a secret, he's going to know you have the cure the minute you blow into town."

He stood staring at her. The way her bright blue eyes met his with a determined challenge, the square of her shoulders, her balanced stance, and her hidden intelligence had him reeling in a cloud of admiration. She was magnificent. His anger, which had been building moments before, sloughed away. He couldn't help but shake his head at her ability to disarm and distract him. "Elijah has instructions to contact a witch for me. An old acquaintance from New Orleans is in Charlottesville awaiting his phone call."

"You're putting another witch into Silas' reach? Is that smart?" Her eyebrows furrowed together trying to follow.

"Elijah doesn't know she is so near, and she doesn't know why I called her in, only the task I need her to complete. She won't raise any flags from Charlottesville. By the time she gets to Mystic Falls, it'll be too late for Silas to do anything about it."

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, she asked, "And why call her in?"

"She can put a temporary block on Mystic Falls."

"A block?"

"It will block Silas' psychic abilities. If everything goes smoothly, she'll be finished before you and I step foot in town."

"How temporary?"

"Long enough for us to reach Mystic Falls, rally, and attack before tomorrow's full moon."

Caroline was getting used to listening carefully to how he worded things. What with his half-truths regarding their confrontation with Katherine, she wasn't making any assumptions. "And _during_ the full moon?"

She had a moment of victory watching his eyes shift to the ceiling. "Full moons amplify a witch's, or in this case warlock's, strength. We can only hope that it doesn't lend Silas enough power to combat the spell."

Her eyes narrowed and burned through him. "Uhuh. He _might_ be at the cemetery. He _may_ not be able to read the plan right out of our heads. This plan is flimsy at best, Klaus. You are off your game."

"It is the only plan we have. Without the Benn—Bonnie, we have no other recourse. There are no other Bennetts with expression; therefore, no other witch with enough power to take him down. He has to take the cure if we are going to have any chance of killing him. And we are out of time. The full moon is tomorrow. I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to have a meet and greet with every dead supernatural creature stuck on the Other Side."

"And what about Bonnie? She's going homicidal on anyone that gets remotely close to the tomb."

Nodding to himself, he continued, "We'll have to split up. Half will distract Bonnie; half will engage Silas."

"Even if we could distract Bonnie . . . how are you going to get close enough to Silas? Won't he just throw hallucinations at you?" Caroline shot out her arm in demonstration of said throwing.

"Silas is powerful, but the brain is only capable of maintaining one or two clear, independent thoughts. He won't be able to distract all of us with individual illusions, and one illusion won't be enough to deter all of us. Especially if we mix up the group."

"Meaning?"

Moving over to her, Klaus sunk into a sit next to her on the bed. "You, Elena, Stefan, and Matt will confront Bonnie. You four are her best connection to her true self, correct?"

"Yes."

"Then, it will be Elijah, Damon, Katherine, Rebekah, and myself. Even if Silas could distract my siblings and me with an illusion, that illusion won't fool Damon and Katherine. And vice versa with all other combinations. With all of us there, he won't be able to hold off all of us with just his illusions. We are a mixed group. Not one hallucination would relate to all of us."

She scoffed, "Did you forget he'll be strong? Fast? He _is_ older than you."

Klaus ignored her argument, "If I had to guess, I would say that with all of his blood gorging, he isn't yet up to full strength. The older you get, the less blood you need; not the other way around."

Caroline threw her hands into her hair with an exasperated sigh, "Another assumption! I don't think this is smart. What if we assume that the moon allows him to bypass the spell? He'll know you have the cure. He's not going to let you cure him before the veil comes down. He'll target the illusion on _you_ because he'll know you have it. He'll pick that information right out of your head. Out of all of your heads assuming you tell everyone you have it. You are going to tell them?"

"It wouldn't be very intelligent of me to not tell them in case I am incapacitated," he explained looking down at where her hands fidgeted in her lap. "I'll tell them after we arrive; when we are all together."

"So, if the spell doesn't work to keep him out of your head, he'll know exactly where the cure is," she said, her tone spelling it out for him.

Shaking his head, he spoke straight, "It doesn't change the plan, just the ease in which it's executed."

"I don't like it," she pouted with a disapproving glare.

Klaus let out a humored chuckle. "Don't worry, Caroline. We have the numbers. He won't be able to give us each a strong enough hallucination to make us incapable of executing the plan. He's a telepathic warlock, not an omnipotent god."

"Careful, your ego is showing," she warned. Looking down at her hands, she searched for another option, "This will never work. You're underestimating him."

Lifting his hand, Klaus tilted her chin until her eyes locked with his. "It'll work. You're overestimating him." Leaning forward, he planted a small kiss on her lips; the gentle pressure leaving almost as soon as it was there.

A little smile curved up the side of her mouth, "Okay, but if it looks like he is going to win, throw Katherine at him and run while her big hair has him blinded."

Laughing heartily with exposed dimples, he shook his head at her.

In that moment, Caroline realized that she wanted to see those dimples spotted across his features more often. She tucked a blonde curl behind her ear, her face becoming serious.

"What is it, Love?" He asked lifting his fingers to run along her cheekbone.

Turning completely towards him on the bed, she sighed. "What's going to happen when we get home? My friends won't understand . . ." her hands jumped back and forth between them, ". . . this. I don't know how to act once we get back."

For a small moment, Klaus felt anger and indignity at the idea of them hiding the change in their relationship, but quickly he realized that this was probably not the time to be igniting hard feelings amongst her friends. "How do you _want_ to act?"

"I . . . I don't want to hide it, I guess. That would be like lying. But," she looked up into his eyes unsure, "Maybe we could keep the P.D.A. on the down low? So, it's not so much a lie as much as an omission? Kinda, don't ask, don't tell. Until we have time to, you know, figure out how to bring it up."

"Omission is still lying," he pointed out with a smirk suddenly enjoying the idea of their displays of affection being secret. Visions of pulling her into closets and feeling her under his hands while tucked into dark corners of the Salvatore house had him feeling giddy with mischief.

"More like bending the truth," she said quietly before her voice boosted with a teasing grin, "You know how to do that. Last I checked, you were quite proficient."

The smile that glittered across his eyes and dazzled over his mouth lit her up. "Quite proficient."

* * *

The afternoon sun was high in the sky casting harsh shadows onto the ground outside of the decrepit house. Katherine had chosen to wait out Elijah and the witch, Shanna, instead of entering the old mansion said to house the souls of a hundred dead witches. She could think of a million other places she would rather be.

She hadn't been waiting long but was already bored. Looking down, she clicked her tongue at the dirt that smudged up the side of her electric blue, suede stilettos. She reached down to wipe it off and only succeeded in smearing it around.

"Perfect," Katherine huffed wiping her hands on her dark skinny jeans. Leaning back, she rested her palms on the porch behind her. The sun was warm on her face; the heat wave holding strong in Mystic Falls. Steps sounded behind her. She recognized the patter of his expensive, leather shoes. "All done?" Her head tilted up to regard him, one eye squinting against the sunlight.

Elijah did not answer immediately but merely looked at her for a moment. After a pause, a small smile lit his mouth, and he said, "Yes. She has asked for a moment alone with the spirits. I suppose such an opportunity as this is a rarity among the witches."

"I guess so," she replied feigning interest. Standing, she walked off the porch and out in the direction of the car parked a way down the drive. Elijah followed contemplatively.

"It appears she was successful," he continued.

"Good. Now we can get things moving. I want to get out of this Podunk town," Katherine murmured. A bird flew overhead, and she watched it as she continued to walk. Glancing back to Elijah, she noted that he seemed lost in thought. "Doubts?" Her pace slowed to a halt, and she faced him.

Elijah also stopped. "No, no. Of course not. I only wish my brother was present to give us more information."

Katherine rolled her eyes. "Right. Klaus. Well, like you said, his highness will be here later today. Not that that means he'll share anything with us." She turned to continue her walk, but stopped and turned in the dirt driveway when she heard his inquiring tone.

"May I ask you a question and expect an honest answer?"

"Why not? It's a free country."

"The cure," he said distractedly pausing for a moment as if listening to something, "Was that truly the full dose that Klaus took from you, or did you save some?"

Katherine rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Trying to cure Klaus with half a dose doesn't really seem like the most effective plan. No, he—well, Caroline took the full dose. That's all I had." Her voice dripped with bitterness mixed with a smidge of respect. She had killed Caroline effectively turning her into a vampire. She applauded the blonde's fortitude; apparently, she wasn't a total waste of space. Taking Elijah's arm, she pushed them back into a walk toward the car. She half expected him to pull away from her or raise an eyebrow disapprovingly, but he did not. In fact, his demeanor was entirely unaffected.

Elijah stepped a few more paces with her until she abruptly halted, her shoes slightly skidding on the dirt. Confused, he spun to see what had happened.

Katherine's eyes were narrowed and confused. She looked to Elijah and then back to the porch she had sat on just moments before. It couldn't be more than 15 yards away. Her eyes widened for the smallest second when she realized why she suddenly felt as if she had been tugged to a stop by an invisible chain. The doppelganger looked up at him and splashed a smile across her face. "What do you think Silas will do now that the cure is destroyed?" Her tone dripped with curiosity.

His eyes jumped back and forth between hers. Katherine tried not to stiffen as a wicked grin plastered across his face. "What a clever compulsion."

"Elijah is a clever man," she said bristling. Of course, she couldn't act ignorant in front of a telepath. Giving him a pointed look, Katherine spat, "I guess not all men can be winners."

Silas stepped closer to her. His look betrayed an angry darkness.

She knew that she couldn't run away into the woods. The compulsion wouldn't let her. Her eyes flashed back to the witches' house momentarily before she pivoted to speed back toward where Elijah still lingered in the lower floors of the moss covered mansion with Shanna. She didn't get far; Silas' hand jumped out snatching her by the upper arm. Panic crept into her chest as she took in a breath to yell.

Silas whipped his hand back smacking Katherine hard across the face. Placing his fingers around her throat, he pushed her down. Her back hit the dirt with a thump knocking the air from her lungs. Peering up at him, she watched the brown eyes she so admired crinkle and glow in thirsty hostility. "One last question for you, Katerina: Did anyone _see_ Klaus destroy the cure?"

Her eyes narrowed, but she did not speak. She didn't need to. Silas smiled a toothy grin. "Clever family . . . apparently."

He reached into his suit jacket with his free hand removing a stake that lay nestled inside his breast pocket. Seeing it, Katherine began to struggle desperately in his grip. She surprised him when she jerked back the hand on her throat just enough to choke out a loud scream, "_Eli_!"

His hand gripped her throat tighter, cutting off the sound. "Thank you, Katherine. For your time," he hummed as the stake shot forward toward her heart.

It never reached her though. A blur of black pushed quickly into Silas' side sending him sliding away across the dirt and onto his back. Above her still stood Elijah's form, but this wasn't a pretender. The real Elijah stood between her and Silas. His face was stern and his chest puffed as he glared challengingly at Silas where he lie in the dirt not far off.

Angry, Silas shot up off the ground. He went to step forward when suddenly the air changed around him. From Katherine and Elijah's eyes it was as if he seemed to shimmer. He schooled his expression and smirked at the Original brother. Straightening his suit jacket, he bowed his head in farewell and sped off into the woods; his last few steps before disappearing into the trees revealing a different, unrecognizable body.

Katherine let out a dramatic sigh and dropped her head down to the ground not caring that dry dirt stuck in her curls. Her eyes were shut against the bright sun overhead. She gave herself a moment to collect herself before opening them again. Elijah was looking down at her with a concerned expression. He extended his well manicured hand down toward her to help her up. Taking the hand, Katherine stood. She was surprised when she went to remove her hand from his, but he held tight. Her face tilted up to look at him.

Elijah lifted his other hand and placed it under her chin. He examined her for a brief moment. Seeming satisfied, he dropped her face and hand. "We will need to alter the compulsion."

"You think?" She grumbled sarcastically. He raised his eyebrow which brought a sly smile to her face. She dramatically swooned, "You rescued me. My hero."

"We all make mistakes," he laughed subtly.

Returning the laugh, she laid a hand on his forehead, "Are you feeling all right? That sounded like a joke, Grumpy."

The handsome smile remained on his face as he peered around the clearing. Looking back at her though, his eyes turned soft and his expression unguarded, "You haven't called me 'Eli' in many years." Her eyebrows furrowed at his words as she now felt exposed. She had not realized she had used the name. A sound distracted her for a moment as the witch exited the house, and when her eyes found Elijah's again, his smile had returned. "I still hate it," he said.

A sharp laugh jumped out of Katherine's mouth, and, for the briefest second, Elijah saw the girl he had first encountered in 1492.

"Good to know. I will use it exclusively from now on," she purred, her eyes flirting from beneath her lashes.

In as exaggerated a motion as Elijah ever gave, he sighed with false exasperation, "Of course." Peering down at her, he chastised himself for enjoying the way her smile infected him. His eyes regarded the approaching witch momentarily, and he addressed Katherine again, "When we get back to the boarding house, after we send off Shanna, I will need to know everything about your talk with Silas."

* * *

Elena's flip flops slapped against her feet as she made her way into the boarding house parlor. "Matt," she greeted calmly as she plopped down on the couch next to where he studied.

Matt responded with barely a tilt of his head, "Elena."

"I'm bored, Matty. They won't let me go anywhere," she pouted stretching her feet out over his lap and textbook making him lean back and glare at her annoyed.

"You're a grown ass woman, 'Lena. Don't stay here because they tell you to. Stay here because is the safest, most intelligent, most reliable move you could make right now."

Raising an eyebrow, she changed the subject. "Why haven't you dated anyone since Caroline?" Elena leaned forward laying her head down on his shoulder. "You're too pretty to be single."

Shaking his head again, he scoffed, "I've been busy."

"Your lack of girlfriend would suggest otherwise," she joked trying to get a rise out of him.

"Can I help you with something?" He asked scooting her legs off of him, bumping her head off his shoulder, and looking back down at his textbook not at all amused.

"What about Bonnie?"

"What about her?"

"Why haven't you ever dated Bonnie?" She inquired.

Matt's eyebrows came together as he looked at her out of the corner of his eye. For a brief moment, he looked sad, but it quickly vanished. "Bonnie and I are just friends."

"We were _just friends_ once. You and Caroline were _just friends_." She leaned into him once again until her mouth was only an inch from his ear and whispered, "I think you have a thing for friends, Matty."

Without hesitation, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. Pressing a name in his contacts, he lifted the phone to his ear.

After a few rings, Damon's familiar voice rang out, "Yeah?" Elena rolled her eyes.

"Look, Robot Elena is hitting on me, could you please come entertain her before I throw up in my mouth."

"What's wrong, Donavan? Not into exes?"

Matt met eyes with Elena, "I'm not into soulless brats." Briefly her eyes narrowed, but it was quickly washed away with a mask of apathy.

"Fair enough. On my way," Damon replied.

The phone beeped as Matt hung up on the eldest Salvatore.

"Whatever," she mumbled getting up and walking to the dry bar. "I'm just saying, Matt, maybe the third times the charm. Perhaps _you_ will be the one to bring her back from her zombie state."

"I think killing Silas will do that just fine, but good to know you are considering all options," he quipped worrying his pencil as he read.

Elena returned to the couch with two fingers of bourbon, "It works in the fairy tales."

Matt smiled incredulously, "Fairy tales? What about our situation suggests life is fairy tale?"

Without missing a beat, she replied, "The existence of fantastical creatures."

Matt felt suddenly tired with talking to her. It was old and more than a little sad. He used to be able to talk with her for hours, but emotionless, she was just exhausting. He closed his book and put it down on the arm of the couch. Standing, he raked his hand over his face and walked out of the sitting room. "Vampires aren't in fairy tales, 'Lena. They're in horror stories."

* * *

**I know, I know. Not much happened. But, I needed some set up for what's next.**

**Please please review! Even if it's just a few words.  
**

**The next few chapters are finished, they just need editing, so expect the next one within two days. ;)  
**

**I'll see you soon with the final chapters of Protection and Betrayal!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Thank you to those who took the time to review! I know the last chapter was a little boring, so I tried to spice then one up a little bit.**

**Warning: This chapter does get smutty, so if you aren't into it, skip to the next page break when you see XXX. Also, the smut is a little more aggressive this time around.**

* * *

"Klaus! Handsy much?!" Caroline exclaimed as his hand popped over the center console of the car and caressed her thigh, pulling the hem of her floral patterned dress slightly up. Reaching down she went to scoot his hand away from the delicate location he was inching towards, but his hand snagged hers in a firm, yet gentle grip. Still watching the road, he raised her knuckles to his lips and kissed them softly.

Her skin flushed slightly at the action, "You have self control issues." Reaching with her free hand, she pulled her dress down to its proper station trying not to think about how that small bit of contact had made her insides swirl.

"Just wait until we get to the boarding house, and I'm officially placed on good behavior. You won't be able to keep my hands off of you," he teased.

"Wow," was all she could say as she shook her head with a smile. "You promised no P.D.A."

"Don't fret, Love. There will be nothing public about my displays."

"Is that so? Subtlety isn't really your strong suit," she retorted with a playful sneer turning to look out the window. A comfortable silence fell over the car, and she let her mind wander. She had to admit, she was more than slightly nervous about the recent change between her and Klaus. Sure, at this moment she was happy, but what was going to happen when they reached the boarding house. Was he going to forget his pledge to try? Was he going to threaten her friends or change in his attitude towards her?

The sign for entering Mystic Falls slid by the car, and she suddenly felt a weight form in the pit of her stomach. The next few days were going to be very revealing for her; for them. How he behaved with her friends could change everything. Not to mention, Klaus was highly possessive. Would he respect her wishes if, after he went back to his sociopathic ways, she decided she couldn't be with him?

Caroline took a breath and peered over at him; his profile lit by the street lights against the night. Sensing her eyes, the Hybrid peered back at her and squeezed the hand he still held in his. He held her eyes for a few moments before returning them to the road. Her eyes drifted down to study their interlocked fingers. Her dainty ones seemed so small in comparison to his.

She seemed to melt as she focused on the steady pressure Klaus held there. As if he were afraid she might fly away if he let her go. He was different now. She knew it. Deep down, she knew this part of him existed and letting him go, flying away, would not be at all easy anymore. Returning a squeeze to his hand, a small, content smile curved up the side of her mouth.

"Penny for your thoughts, Love," his voice hummed across the car. His eyes searched her face when it turned up to him.

"I shouldn't want this," she began holding up their hands as an example, "But I do. I'm terrified that, with us being home, you are going to revert to your old ways, and I'm going to have to own up to the fact that I'm . . . that _I've_ let this go so far knowing perfectly well what you are capable of."

Klaus' brows briefly furrowed, and he pulled the car to the shoulder of the road and parked near the tree line. Keeping his eyes on the steering wheel, he rubbed his thumb along the top of her hand. "I'm . . ." he started hesitantly. He took a long breath before trying again, "I have a similar fear." As his eyes drifted over to her, Caroline's heart nearly broke at their glassy appearance. "I fear that we will return and you will discover that you don't want all of me. Just the parts I show you when we're alone. Just the parts that are only for you."

"Klaus—" she tried to interject.

"—No, Caroline. I need you to listen now." He peered over through his lashes, his voice firm but pregnant with meaning. "This is what's going to happen. We are going to go home, and I will be just as I was before." His eyes bored into hers as he said this, gauging her reaction which was now darkly suspicious. "I will be as I always was. Being with you did not change my personality. I am still the one that sacrificed people you knew to become a hybrid and protect my family; that turned Tyler into a hybrid on an alter of experimentation and manipulation. I am still the one that bled _my_ doppelganger to make hybrids. I'm still the one that killed those same hybrids and Carol Lockwood in a fit of rage and betrayal. _That_ is still me. Do not pretend otherwise," he said with a shake of his head.

There was a long pause. Caroline's expression was livid as a tear appeared and crawled down her cheek. Her eyes, which had been glued to him, shot out the front window as she shook her head and her hand attempted, unsuccessfully, to pull out of his. Hearing him detail his wrong-doings was doing nothing for her anxiety and surety regarding their new relationship.

"But," he continued softly glad when her eyes flicked back up to his and her hand relaxed again. "There will be an addition to my character attributes. Just one." Klaus turned fully in her direction, his free hand lifting to rest against her face, his fingers pulling aside, and burrowing in, her curls. His voice was barely over a whisper and laced with tenderness as he leaned his body into hers, "You. Now that I have you, I won't hurt you, Caroline. You are finally mine, and I will keep you. You have a caring heart full of light and strength. A heart I do not expect, nor desire, to alter. A heart I _do not_ intend to let slip through my fingers."

Caroline's face softened as she sunk into her seat; her eyes never leaving his.

"Now tell me, how could I sacrifice or kill or use _anyone_ you hold dear again without threat of losing you? How could I expect to keep you if I did that? I am not changed, Caroline, but now I have something new to keep; to protect, and do not doubt that I _will_ protect it." His intense stare jumped back and forth between her eyes as a small, tentative smile lifted her mouth and she breathed out a single, soft laugh.

"You know I'll never stop trying to bring out the good in you," she said lowly releasing his hand to touch his chest. "I'll always contradict you. Always fight you. It's how we are. But, what will you do when my feelings go against one of your grand schemes?"

"I can't imagine that I would ever be unaffected by you," he whispered sinfully his eyes focusing in on her mouth.

"That's not really an answer," she hummed creeping closer to him.

Klaus smirked crookedly, "It's the best I've got, Love." Tipping forward the few inches between them he caught her lips with his own, pulling her face into his with his hand.

Caroline inhaled sharply. Everything about him was intense, and the kiss was no different. His lips seemed to taste and savor even as they roughly pulled and pressed against hers, and, while his body reacted strongly with heavy breaths and a forceful lean, his tongue was still gentle and caressing. Kissing Klaus, it seemed as if she were finally finding something. Before, Mystic Falls had felt like a cage, now, there with him, she felt as if it was merely a beginning; a springboard for what would come next. **XXX**

His arms were all encompassing as they pulled her into him. Silently, she cursed the way the center console dug into her hip and how the shifter scraped against her knee. She wanted to be closer.

It was obvious that the Hybrid was experiencing a similar frustration. Reaching down quickly, he scrambled to unclick his seatbelt and hers. Once liberated, he leaned forward as far as he could, attempting to feel her more fully against him. The atmosphere shifted around them when the feminine hand on his chest curled into his many necklaces, tugging firmly, and her free palm crept over to rub high up against his inner thigh. His lips continued to move with hers, a new hunger in him demanding he taste every bit of her.

Caroline's head was swimming. Unconsciously, her right knee lifted.

"Ow," she yelped parting from him to rub her shin where it had just collided with the head of the shifter.

A deep growl rumbled through Klaus' chest. The next moment he was gone from the car and Caroline's door was being flung open. Not wasting time, he ducked under the roof to meet her mouth again. Grasping her knee firmly, he wrenched her over towards him.

The aggressive move had frantic breaths spilling out of her chest as she tried to pull him into the car with her.

He was having none of it. Wrapping an arm around her back and clutching her upper thigh, he extracted her from the seat and slammed her against the side of the black car; his body pressing into her roughly.

A hitched moan hummed through her as she tried to balance breathing and kissing with the tight, hot need to have more of him. Her arms swung tightly around his neck as she ground her hips against his, begging for friction. A slight lift and a cool rush of air twisted around her, and Klaus' lips lowered heavily onto her throat. Opening her eyes, Caroline realized he had sped them into the woods. Her back no longer pressed into smooth metal but the jagged bark of a tree.

Deep sounds escaped between his lips as he left wet kisses down the soft curve of her neck. Strong fingers sunk into the skin on her hips in an unyielding grip; the breathy sounds expelling from her summoning a savage desire from within him. The smell of her arousal spiked the air and Klaus bit down lightly on her shoulder. Moving down her body, his lips lingered over her breast bone, his tongue sliding into the space between her breasts making her moan wanton.

Klaus hummed in approval when he felt her hands weaving into his curls. Lowering more, he dropped to a kneel pinching small bites across the fabric covering her belly, his fingers fondling the backs of her knees. Enjoying the smooth contours of her legs, his hands lifted slowly up her thighs. The Hybrid's breathing was ragged when he paused to peer up at the object of his lust. Her blue eyes were hooded but fervently regarding him.

Watching her, enraptured by the look in her eyes, his fingers slid up under the skirt of her dress to gently slide the white lace beneath down her legs.

Stepping out of the delicate cloth, Caroline held his eyes. Her core burned for him and the wetness spreading from her was warm against her thighs.

Unable to resist the clear needs of her body, Klaus tucked his hand under one of her calves and, supporting her balance with his free arm, lifted her leg up over his shoulder, her knee bending around him, and the movement lifting her short dress to expose the delicate, pink flesh beneath. Letting his eyes finally fall from hers, he leaned in kissing her softly at the crease at the top of her leg, his tongue flicking out to trace the line.

Caroline's grip on his curls tightened at the sensation, his name falling pleadingly from her lips. Her head fell back against the trunk of the tree when he began to kiss and taste every inch of her, never, though, indulging in her most wanting, swollen area.

She hated this. He had teased her that morning as well. "Stop teasing me," she mewled from above him biting her lip in irritation.

A knowing chuckle came from his chest.

Feeling very irked by his amusement and by the lack of fulfillment, Caroline used her grip in his hair to yank his head back, forcing his eyes to meet hers. His face pinched in discomfort, and his expression was incensed at her gall. A threatening growl seethed out between his teeth.

"What's wrong, Big Bad Hybrid? Don't think you can please a baby vampire?" She challenged. Releasing his hair abruptly, she watched his expression turn to indignant anger, a flicker of yellow passing over his irises.

He had meant to please her slowly, but her challenge rang in his head. In one swift motion, his hands shot up gripping onto the fabric of her dress. Pulling down fiercely, he ripped open the garment from the sweetheart neckline to lower hem. A harsh gasp pulled into her lungs at the action.

Wasting no time, he jumped forward taking her hot sex into his mouth sucking intensely and enjoying how she cried out and arched her back against the tree.

Caroline's eyes were wide and angled toward the sky as she tried to hold herself together. She had had boyfriends do this for her before, but this was more than anything she had ever felt. Years of experience had done him every favor. Her strident whines echoed through the wood as his tongue swirled, sucked, and flicked rapidly on and around her clit, occasionally stroking slowly across her folds. She was acutely aware when his hand snuggled under the lifted side of her ass, pressing her higher, opening her wider.

The sounds issuing from the young blonde were uninhibited and wild; everything he wanted them to be. He was beyond hard for her. The fluids leaking from her driving him desperate to feel her soft walls wrapped tightly around his cock. There was something about the woods and the nearly full moon overhead that made the wolf in him come forward, domineering and possessive. She hadn't just challenged him, she had challenged his wolf, and the wolf would not abide. Once he heard the hitch in her moans and the frantic shift in them, he plunged his fingers deeply in, milking out her climax.

Her euphoric peak made her quiver and her knees buckle. Had it not been for his steadying arm and his shoulder beneath her leg, she would have fallen to the ground. Her eyes were clinched shut as his name sang out from her lips.

Klaus took his time with her lingeringly petting around her sensitive bud as she came down, nearly purring at the languid posture he had instigated in her.

A long, sated sigh fell out of her, and she barely registered when her leg was lowered back to the ground. She heard a rustling of denim and a brief jingle of metal but didn't bother opening her eyes to see what it was. Her surprise was significant when suddenly she was lifted once again, this time by both legs, and Klaus crashed up against her between her thighs. Widely, her eyes shot open to look at him, her hands steadying herself against his chest.

His expression was arrogant yet dripping with carnality, and when their eyes locked, his signature smirk raised the side of his mouth. "My turn," he said, his voice husky and dark.

Without warning, Klaus pushed himself deep inside her. Her gasp was shocked, but the way her legs tightened around his hips and fingers clawed at him excitedly assured him that she had liked it. He could feel how her walls clinched around him, confused by the sudden intrusion.

"Oh god," she exclaimed as he pulled out completely only to thrust back in the full extent. Caroline watched him as he did this. Unable to refrain, she pressed herself forward kissing him passionately. Klaus continued to pump aggressively as their tongues danced against each other, both reveling in the flavor that still lingered in his mouth. She felt herself begin to climb again, this time accompanied by an ache in her gums and sharpening vision. As her vampiric features came forward, she bit down hard on his lip.

Klaus jumped back from her at the sudden pain. The bite had been deep and blood shone brightly against his lower lip. His eyes focused in on her and he nearly whimpered at the sight before him, her dangerous beauty. Decidedly moving again, he let her have what she wanted, leaning in to give her his mouth once more.

The taste of blood between them was a stimulant that sent them from consenting adults to primitive creatures desperate to feel one another. His movements became erratic and quick as he felt himself nearing his peak. Ending the kiss, he pushed his face against her neck, gritting his teeth as he struggled to prolong the moment unable to hold back his deep groans.

Caroline knew he was close. "Come, Klaus! Do it!" she breathed into his ear.

Her endorsement was all he needed and in just a few thrusts he let out a raspy moan as he came hard for her. As he rode it out still diving into her roughly, she soared with him, high on his orgasm and, now, her own. It crashed upon her like a wave, and she held on tight to him in hopes that it wouldn't sweep her away.

Their breathing was now coming out in heavy pants as their animalistic dance slowed and came to an end. The night air chilled her still bare and now glistening skin.

Caroline recovered before Klaus and started to revive him with soft kisses to his cheek and ear. Suddenly, a tiny sound met her ears: a rhythmic beeping that came from the road. Realizing what it was, she huffed, "You left the car door open."

His chuckle rocked her slightly as he leaned back to look into her face, "You worry about the strangest things at the strangest times."

* * *

They arrived at the Salvatore Boarding House in the late evening with Caroline now changed into jeans and a tee. The house seemed quiet when she turned the knob and walked in, Klaus following on her heels with their bags in tow. She did not call out for fear of waking whoever might be sleeping, but she didn't need to. Moments after entering, Stefan approached from the parlor with a conservative smile.

"Took you long enough," he said jokingly to Caroline. Bending over, he hugged her. His eyes lingered on her a minute as he silently checked her condition. It wasn't until he was satisfied that he shifted his attention to Klaus. "Klaus," he greeted dryly.

Unamused by his attitude, he responded with a wry smile, "Ripper."

"You can leave Caroline's bags here. I'll take them up. Your room is upstairs. The only open door at the end of the East Wing." Stefan flicked his head up as if implying Klaus should make quick work of placing his bags in his room. Caroline had to hold back a giggle at the hard look Klaus gave her friend. Stefan was obviously trying to refrain from detailing her room's location to Klaus while simultaneously placing him on the opposite side of the upper level. "Caroline, come with me, I have something for you," he said over his shoulder as he turned toward the kitchen.

Looking over her shoulder, she smiled knowingly at Klaus. His mouth curved with a secret smirk, and his eyes seemed to twinkle reminding her what they had done not 30 minutes before. Setting down her bags, he made his way up the stairs with his own.

She strode her way into the kitchen and spoke, "What do you have for me?"

Without speaking, Stefan pulled from his pocket a small flask and handed it to her. His expression was serious, but what else was new?

She laughed lightly as she took it, "It certainly was an adventure to spend a week with Klaus, but this is a little dramatic don't you think?"

Still not speaking, he reached over to her and unscrewed the lid. The acidic, floral smell of Vervain hit her nose, and she drew back sharply. "It's been a while, I believe?" he asked.

Understanding, Caroline took a deep breath and then a mouthful of Vervain. After several coughs and retches, she regained her composure and said, "I haven't needed it."

"So you think," he replied taking the flask, tucking it back into his pocket, and escorting her to the sitting room.

"I know," she said confidently. So confidently that it made Stefan pause and look down at her, his expression even more severe than before.

"Caroline, did—?"

"—Well well well! The prodigal blonde returns!" Damon's cheerful voice met them at the foot of the stairs as he took the last few steps. With a wiggle of his eyebrows, he said, "Barbie, I hope you didn't do anything I wouldn't do."

"There are quite a few things you _would_ do, Damon, so I don't see how that statement would matter in the grand scheme of any shenanigans _I_ may have gotten up to," she replied smartly noting how he seemed to sway drunkenly in his walk.

Winking at her, he quipped, "Well, I wouldn't sleep with Klaus." Walking passed her he nudged her playfully with his arm, "So, my hope remains."

Scoffing with play offense, she pushed his back making him take a few quick steps forward and laugh. "Don't be crude, Damon." She tried to hide the fact that her smile was more nervous than joking. If she didn't know his sense of humor, she might have worried that he knew something.

"I'm going to take your bags to your room. It's the one you usually use," Stefan called over his shoulder as he ascended the stairway with her luggage.

From the sitting room, Damon called to Stefan, "Oh! You mean yours!"

"Damon!" Caroline screeched throwing a throw pillow at him having joined him in the sitting room. She could only imagine how an eavesdropping Klaus was going to take that.

"Shut up, Damon," Stefan boredly droned from the upper hallway.

Laughing at his brother, Damon pulled his vibrating phone from his pocket. "What is it, Mutt? Elena is here, so what could you possibly have to bitch about? . . . Oh . . . How much has she had to drink? . . . Just throw her ass in your truck, Donovon. Aren't you off in like a half hour? . . . Just get her back here, Genius. . . . Just give her five or ten shots of 151 and carry her out. You're a quarterback, I think you can handle a hundred and twenty pounds of problem." Ending the call, Damon tossed his phone over his shoulder where it landed on the couch behind him.

"Elena's not here then," Caroline asked from where she stood near the fireplace.

Downing his drink, he raised a single eyebrow before bitterly replying, "Apparently not." Shaking himself, he headed back toward the stairwell, "I'm gonna take a shower. Care . . . to join me?" he asked laughing at his own joke. "See what I did there?"

Caroline laughed at his drunken silliness before shooing him with her hand as she stepped slightly in pursuit, "You're hilarious, Damon."

Turning, he took the last couple steps backwards, "You sure are giggly tonight." His face turned to mock seriousness, "Did someone get laid?"

Groaning, she glared up at him as he continued up onto the upper platform. "Hey, someone has to get lucky in this house," she bit back.

Before disappearing into the hall, Damon yelled down sarcastically, "Oooo! Burn!"

She was about to roll her eyes when someone walked through the front door. At first, she was happy to see Elijah, but when he was followed by Katherine, Caroline's congenial smile faded to a scowl.

Elijah approached her nicely, "Miss Forbes. I trust your travels were pleasant."

"Yes, thank you, Elijah. Hello, Katherine," she greeted with an obviously fake smile. "How's your face?"

Katherine's chest puffed up slightly and she gave a bitter smile, "Better than yours."

'Oh hell no!' Caroline thought as she took steps toward Katherine ready for Round 2. Katherine didn't hesitate to take a step herself.

Elijah's hand lifted between them, "Ladies, please. This is hardly the time. Katerina, please go to your room. I _expect_ you to stay there." He watched her carefully as she stomped up the stairs in her 4 inch slingbacks. Caroline didn't watch so much as more murder Katherine with her eyes. Elijah's voice broke her from her homicidal fantasy, "How are you, Caroline?"

Caroline's first response was to say that she was well, but her words came out differently, "Conflicted." She paused for a second taking a moment to laugh at her abrupt response.

With a slightly lifted brow, the Original asked, "Why is that?"

"Your br—" she started but clamped her hand over her mouth.

"Are you all right? You seem strange," he inquired looking vaguely concerned.

"I'm doing well, yes," she responded with a confused look on her face. Thankfully, before he could ask any more questions, Klaus came strolling down the stairs.

After their initial greetings, Klaus and Elijah adjourned to the parlor. Caroline's heart beat irregularly when Klaus had purposefully passed her so closely that his upper arm rubbed snugly against her chest. "Excuse me, Sweetheart," he had hummed lowly with smirk before following Elijah.

'Ha. Ha,' she thought with a deep breath as she left them to their discussion, walking up the stairs toward her room. Being home she felt very tired, and since the plan was to meet up with everyone early the next morning, she figured she might as well get some beauty sleep. Her face warmed as she recalled why sleep had been lacking the night before.

Caroline walked into her room and began rifling through her bags in search of toiletries and pajamas. Walking to the bathroom to brush her teeth and hair she wondered what her major malfunction had been when she spoke with Elijah before. It was like her internal filter was off, and she was in sharing mode. 'Weird.' She briefly thought back to the morning after they had captured Katherine when she had given him the speech about Rebekah's happiness. Something about Elijah made her feel like she could say anything. 'When did that happen? But tonight? That was a whole new level of big-mouth-ery.'

She spat the toothpaste out of her mouth and determined to be more guarded around the elder Mikaelson in the future. Plopping down under the familiar covers her mind, still whirling with thought, drifted to the plan for tomorrow night. She still didn't like it. To her it was simply foolhardy for them to go waltzing into Fell's Tomb with their _only_ dose of cure when Silas was a telepath. But, she had to admit, she struggled to think of another option. It's not like they could waltz in their _without_ the cure.

"Ugh!" She groaned rolling over in the bed and pushing her head under a pillow. "This is dumb."

* * *

Her absolutely obnoxious ringtone sounded at 7 a.m. the next morning. Rolling over, Caroline muted her phone and wiped at her eyes. Crawling out of bed she dragged herself to her bathroom and turned on the shower. The minute the hot water touched her skin she felt both more awake _and_ more tired. She took her time washing hoping the peppermint soap would snap her out of her morning fog.

After she had toweled off, threw on some makeup, and fluffed her hair with the dryer, she moseyed out into her bedroom. The rapid patter of rain drops sounded outside her window, and, as she reached for her cell phone, a crack of thunder shook the old single pane within the frame. Caroline sighed.

The time suggested that she was still early for the morning rendezvous with everyone in the Salvatore's sitting room. Stepping out into the hallway, she listened for movement around her. The sound of pen on paper came from Stefan's room and steady breathing came from the other three occupied rooms in the wing. A mischievous smirk crossed her face as Caroline crept down the hall with a flirty thought in mind.

Going to his room was probably a risk, but she wanted to see him before everyone met. She justified herself with the idea that if they didn't see each other, they would act awkwardly and give themselves away.

Caroline's smile grew wider as she approached the East Wing and heard the shower running in the room at the end, Klaus' room, but her expression changed to confusion when she realized his bedroom door was open. Stepping lightly, she peered around the jamb. Instead of Klaus, Caroline saw Elijah. At first, she was sure she had the wrong room, but the presence of a sketchpad on the nightstand and the grey Henley draped over the upholstered chair by the armoire contradicted the thought. Listening closer, she could even distinguish the abnormal fall of water in the shower suggesting Klaus was indeed in it.

A sense of wrongdoing befell her, so she stepped back silently to watch him. The eldest Original seemed very interested in something he was holding, but it wasn't until he held the object up in front of his face that Caroline realized what it was. The red liquid swirled within the syringe. Her eyes bugged out, and she struggled to hold back a gasp. Was Elijah stealing the cure from Klaus the day they would need it? She had about two seconds to completely freak out before Elijah surprised her by tucking the cure back into Klaus' jacket breast pocket.

The action confused her. Klaus hadn't intended to reveal the cure until later this morning; he had said so. How did his brother even know that the cure was there? And why would he be sneaking around Klaus' room if he had only wished to see it? Something wasn't right.

There was little time for her to think more on the issue before the brunette turned toward the door his hand pulled up to hover over his own breast pocket. Not wanting to be caught spying, Caroline splashed a smile across her face and strode into the room as if she had seen nothing and had just entered.

Upon making eye contact she stalled slightly keeping her kindly face on, "Hey, Elijah. Sorry, I thought this was Klaus' room."

"No need for apology. You are in the right place. I merely came to speak with him before we gather downstairs, but it seems he is unavailable," he finished gesturing towards the bathroom door. "What brings you here?"

Caroline waved her hand as if trying to imply that it was nothing. She thought to suggest that she simply wanted to ask him a question, but once again, her mouth had other plans, "I was hoping he and I could have a quickie before—"

Gasping, Caroline threw her hands over her mouth mortified at what she had just said.

Elijah seemed slightly surprised, but a small smile glinted at the edges of his mouth. "I didn't know yours and my brother's relationship had evolved so."

Her large blue orbs stared over her hands at him with few to no blinks and little movement.

"Miss Forbes. Are you all right?"

Her hands slowly lowered from her face before she responded, "No. I don't know why I told you that. We weren't going to tell anyone and I told you without hesitation."

The elder Mikaelson's eyebrows quirked in confusion, "Perhaps I am merely fortunate enough to have been deemed trustworthy?"

"I don't think so," she mumbled half to herself, her eyes drifting down in thought.

His eyebrow lifted in amusement, "Well, at least you have some sense."

Realizing what she had said, Caroline rushed to take it back, throwing her hands up in front of her, "No. No. That's not what I meant. I just meant that I don't think that's what's wrong with me." Caroline plopped down on Klaus' bed.

"Caroline. You aren't making much sense," he calmly stated.

Her thoughts were a blur as she tried to understand why this kept happening. First, she overshared in London, then again when she saw Elijah last night downstairs and now she blabs a secret she had no intention or desire to share. Sure, some secrets crawl under your skin you want to speak of it so badly, but this was not one of those secrets. 'And it only happens with Elijah . . . ' She peaked back up at him from under her eyelashes pensively. He looked so pulled together for so early in the morning, she noted. Caroline found herself wondering if he ever looked disheveled. Upon that thought her mind drifted to his frightened, raving state the night they had captured Katherine. His eyes had been wild and his suit out of place. A tickle of a thought sounded in her mind.

"Elijah? Ask me a question."

The brunette's brow furrowed in confusion, "What sort of question?"

She tucked her blonde curls behind her ear trying to think of the right question. "A personal one. Ask me . . . ask me when I stopped . . . loving Tyler."

"Caroline, I don't—"

"Ask me," she demanded firmly.

"When did you stop loving Tyler Lockwood?"

Caroline stood before him afraid to answer, but she had to see if her theory was correct.

She knew she wanted to say that it was the night she deleted his pictures from her phone, but she didn't know what words would escape her heart. Taking a breath, she replied, "The day I stopped waiting for his phone call."

Caroline's brain flashed to sitting on the couch with her pasta and Gone with the Wind. _No one is going to call anyway. _"Oh God," she quietly exclaimed pressing her fingers over her eyes. She had shocked herself, and it was exactly as she theorized.

"Tell me what is happening," he directed, disrupting her thoughts.

Dropping her hands from her face she looked up at Elijah. Abruptly, she burst into a fit of laughter.

"Miss Forbes?" He asked peering toward the bathroom door hoping Klaus would save him from what was obviously some form of hysteria.

Caroline continued to laugh as she stuttered, "Duh! I'm compelled!" Her laughs died out slightly, and she regained some composure. "You compelled me."

Elijah was confused, and it was plastered across his face plain as day. "I do not recall compelling you."

"You did! When you were hallucinating. I remember. You yelled at me to stop lying to you. I felt it. Your pupils dilated and everything."

His eyes widened slightly at the fuzzy memory. "I . . . it's possible."

"That's why I've been over-sharing," Caroline explained watching him contemplate this new development. For the briefest of moments, his stare shifted down to Klaus' jacket. She followed his gaze with her eyes, and when he turned back toward her, there was a dark hesitation there.

When he spoke, he was calm and sure, "Caroline, did you—"

"Well, isn't this a party?"

* * *

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	19. Chapter 19

**Thank you so much for the reviews! You guys make me smile.**

**There may be a little confusion this chapter. Not to worry, it was intentional.**

* * *

Klaus had heard Caroline enter his room and was surprised to learn that his brother had already been waiting for him. He had been rinsing his hair when he heard her comment regarding stopping by for a quickie; Soap and water had clouded his eyes when they popped open in surprise. By the time Klaus heard her enthusiastic laughs, he was groping for his towel, but as soon as she mentioned compulsion, he froze. He froze long enough to hear Elijah pause and long enough to realize this was a potentially bad situation for Caroline to be in. He had wrapped the large brown towel around his waist and left the bathroom to join the conversation.

"Caroline, did you—"

"Well, isn't this a party," he spouted as he came into the room.

Elijah smoothly turned toward him sliding his hands into his slack pockets. "Niklaus."

"What can I do for you, Brother?" Klaus said eyeing the elder Mikaelson pointedly.

"You know what? I'm gonna leave you guys to it," Caroline mumbled awkwardly with a nervous laugh as she started to back out of the room. Klaus didn't fail to notice how her eyes had briefly ventured to the wet, exposed skin of his stomach. He could almost feel her thoughts, and it made him smirk proudly.

"No need, Miss Forbes," Elijah said over his shoulder to her oblivious of the playful look Klaus displayed behind him.

"No. No. It's fine. I'll see you downstairs." Her pace was speedy as she turned out the door and strode down the hallway toward the stairwell. She couldn't help but feel relieved that Klaus had interrupted when he did. There was a anxious thought creeping in that exposing the compulsion to Elijah was not the smartest thing she had ever done. She was certain he had been moments from abusing her candor.

* * *

"When will Original Barbie be joining us?" Damon asked Stefan as he leaned against the mantle in the sitting room with two fingers of Kentucky Straight. Everyone had collected to discuss the plan for that evening's assault on Silas, and now that the basics had been shared with the group, everyone was whirling with questions.

Leaning into the sofa cusions, the younger brother responded, "She'll drive in tonight around eight."

Damon's brow jumped slightly with a scoff, "What? Did she take the scenic route?"

"She was on the other side of the world when I finally reached her."

"Wow. Congratulations, Klaus-y," Damon chirped shooting a crinkled smile in the Hybrid's direction. "She changed hemispheres to avoid you."

"We all do it eventually," Katherine piped in sighing into her glass from behind the sofa.

Elijah's displeased voice spoke over the piece of furniture reminding her not to speak, "Katherine."

The curly haired brunette smiled bitterly as she curled around the side of the furniture and sat on the floor between Elijah's legs. Feeling her nestle in between his shins he seethed out a breath and shook his head at the ceiling. He was thankful when Elena decided to change the subject and defer everyone's attention her way.

"So, when will we do this?"

Stefan's eyes shifted to Klaus, to Elijah, and then to the rest of the company. "The benefit of having an extra set of Original hands is too good to ignore."

Elijah's head tilted down, and he nodded at Stefan's logic. Looking to the armchair on his right he addressed Klaus. "I agree. We should hold off until tonight. Silas and Bonnie won't drop the veil until midnight. We'll have time."

Hearing his brother's words, Klaus also gave a slight nod.

This all sounded so straight forward, but Caroline was feeling like the only sane person in a room full of crazies. No matter how many times she heard the plan, it sounded ill suited for a fight against a telepath. Klaus thought she was overestimating him, but there was nothing wrong with a little bit of healthy fear. "Won't waiting until later put us at risk of the block coming down?"

"Caroline has a point," Stefan affirmed. "Also, we haven't addressed how as vampires, Caroline, Elena, and I are supposed to get close enough to Bonnie to invoke any sort of change in her."

Everyone's eyes shifted to Klaus for an answer.

With a small smirk, he peered over at Elijah, "Did Shanna give you the box?"

"She did," he said confidently his hand lifting unconsciously to his breast pocket. Before he reached into his jacket, though, to retrieve it, his hand abruptly changed course and instead reached toward his jacket side pocket and lifted out a small, wallet-shaped box. While everyone's eyes drifted to the little box, Caroline felt hung up on his accidental misdirection. She heard him continue, but her thoughts were occupied elsewhere. He wouldn't have put something in his jacket side pocket unless his breast pocket was occupied. Her eyes narrowed as she watched Elijah speak with the group. He had patted his breast pocket earlier in Klaus' room just after she had found him ogling the cure.

It was as if Elijah could feel someone staring and his eyes met with hers as he searched the room for his observer. Pretending that she hadn't just been caught leering like a teenage boy at cheerleading practice, she tucked a curl behind her ear and directed her attention to Klaus.

"The witch has provided us with these charms," the blonde Original was saying indicating the box that now stood open on the coffee table. " For those of us confronting Silas, it will be only slightly disorienting to his magic, but to the Bennett witch, it should make her abilities significantly less potent."

"Define less potent," Elena said shifting uncomfortably.

Elijah answered her, "Her magic won't be fatal."

This vague answer made Caroline give a sarcastic chuckle, "And . . . ?"

The elder Mikaelson looked around the group sternly, stopping to give an apologetic look to Elena, "That is all that is known positively."

The younger doppelganger did not like this answer. She had already fallen victim to Bonnie's expression, and while not dying was a bonus, it didn't make the potential for pain less uncomfortable. "Fantastic," she sighed sardonically.

Damon's snarky voice popped back into the conversation, "May I also point out that our Hybrid general has not mentioned how we are supposed to take down a two thousand year old immortal when he has destroyed our only means of making said immortal vulnerable? Or am I the only one to have noticed this plot-hole?"

Once again all eyes were on Klaus. A small smile climbed up his mouth. The expectant silence in the room made everyone itch with anticipation. Caroline knew about the cure, so she used the moment to spy Elijah's reaction. She had seen him fondling the cure, yet his face was splashed with the same curious look as the others. This could only mean one thing, Caroline deduced. Elijah wasn't supposed to know. Klaus hadn't told him.

The realization had Caroline's eyebrow arching as she observed him unnoticed. 'How did he find out? What had he been doing this morning?' In her distracted state, she did not see when Klaus pulled the capped syringe from his jacket pocket. She did however see how Elijah's hand lifted to pull slightly on his lapel, his hand grazing lightly over his breast pocket. It was then that the mental tickle from before became a full blown thought. 'Elijah did steal the cure!'

Caroline's expression was shocked. Her eyes flicked over to the syringe Klaus held in his hand and then back to Elijah. She hadn't seen him return the cure to Klaus' jacket, she had seen the end of an exchange. For a moment, Caroline had half a mind to stand and yell the betrayal out to the group infuriated on Klaus' behalf, but she thought, is this not exactly what had been missing from their plan against Silas? Sitting back into the sofa cushions, all of her concerns regarding their plan seemed to resolve and a cunning smile quirked the side of her mouth. Her attention then shifted from Elijah to Katherine; the way Elijah let her lean back into him. All of a sudden, Caroline wasn't worried about Silas being a telepath and settled in to witness the reaction of the grouping in the Salvatore's sitting room.

Elena was the first to speak, "You didn't destroy it."

The Hybrid's smirk widened to a cheshire grin, "Now why would I destroy something that everyone seems to want to get their hands on?"

* * *

Katherine strode down the hallway towards her room. A small shift in the floorboards behind her made her eyes roll as she threw a few curls over her shoulder. "You following me for a reason, Miss Mystic?" Reaching her door, she turned to view Caroline standing behind her.

"I need to speak with you," Caroline said forwardly.

"You've got to be joking. You know I'm older and can kill you in less than a second, right?"

"How long do you think it'll take Klaus to kill you? From what I understand, you have a short leash on, Katherine. I'd like to see your survival instinct raise a finger against me," Caroline said nonplussed by the brunette's threat.

A knowing smile quirked up the side of Katherine's mouth, "Look at you. All puffed up behind your Original shield."

The blonde's eyebrow lifted slightly as she replied, "I think we're both guilty of that."

Her smile grew wider as she reached for the doorknob and pushed open her door in invitation.

Nodding slightly, Caroline slid past the older vampire and entered her room. She noticed a bathroom off to one side and suredly walked into the little room turning on the sink and the shower. Katherine watched intrigued as she closed the door and joined Caroline in the bathroom making sure to pull that door in behind her too.

"Are we going to take a shower?" Katherine asked coquettishly.

"Eww. No," Caroline huffed before lowering her voice to a whisper. "I need a favor. A big favor."

"That's adorable. You know, the vervain I can forgive. But do you know how shitty it is to get glass smashed in your eyes?"

"I'm sorry I ruined your eyeliner, but this is important," Caroline pressed with a determined look in her eyes.

"Why would I do you a favor?"

"What if I could get Klaus off your back? What if you didn't have to run anymore?"

Caroline's words brought Katherine's sneer to a halt. "I'm listening."

The blonde took a step toward her. Her voice still quiet, "I can do that for you, Katherine. I can give you your freedom. _I_ can convince Klaus to let you go. let you live your life."

"I think you overestimate yourself," the brunette said with a shake of her head and a humored sigh.

"No. I don't," Caroline confirmed confidently. "It won't be immediate. It will take some time. But, if you do this for me, I will do this for you."

"What makes you so sure you can convince him?"

Caroline didn't immediately answer. She instead found herself searching the walls for a safe answer. "Klaus owes me. I saved him from being cured. He's grateful and . . . "

"What?" A short laugh escaped Katherine's mouth. "Caroline Forbes. Does Klaus _lurv_ you?"

Her blue eyes flashed up to Katherine, "No!" She yelped a little louder than she meant to. Regaining her composure, she continued, "But it is no secret that he _fancies_ me. I can do it."

"I'm not sure if I believe you, but you have me interested. Do tell, Peaches, what's this favor?"

* * *

Elijah lifted the lid to the freezer in the Salvatore's basement. Though he preferred the fresh, invigorating taste of blood from the source, there was something to be said for convenience. Picking up the plump bag, he escorted the lid back down.

"Elijah? Are you down here?" Elena's voice rang from the stairwell down the hall.

"I am," he responded recognizing the bored tones of the Gilbert doppleganger, wrapping the hanging tubing around the blood bag and peering up when her svelte form entered the small alcove.

"Hey. I need to talk to you about tonight."

"I'm at your disposal," he said pulling back his jacket to tuck his hand into his trouser pocket.

"I want to help fight Silas. I don't care about Bonnie. She's gone off the deep end, but it's not my problem. If I'm going to be forced to help, I at least want to take part in the_ real_ part of the plan. I don't need to be pushed to the kiddy table."

The Original regarded her for a moment. "You are mistaken if you believe that distracting Bonnie is at all inconsequential to the plan, Elena. You have been selected for this task because of your connection to Miss Bennett."

"But, that's just it. I don't have a connection to her anymore." Elena tucked a strand of her straight, brown hair behind her ear, "I don't care about Bonnie."

"Let me rephrase. You have been selected for this task because of Miss Bennett's connection to you. You were her friend. Whatever the current status of your relationship, it is the already developed bond that makes you a key player in her distraction and revival."

Elena expelled a frustrated breath and paced the small space briefly.

"And as for you sitting at the kiddy table. May I remind you that you _are_ the youngest of all of us and, therefore, the weakest. Excluding, of course, Mr. Donovan. Not to mention that your presence will shift the priorities of some of those queued up to engage Silas."

Her face contorted briefly as she shook her head and bit her lip. Abruptly, she stepped up to Elijah and raised a finger to him, "This is bullshit. It's not my fault that Damon can't prioritize."

"Yet, it is the way this must play out."

The young vampire's hand dropped as she glared at him incensed. Elijah held her gaze unflinching in his decision, not failing to notice that her emotions were peaking through once again.

"Doesn't this look cozy," a playful voice sounded from the alcove entry. Elijah and Elena's eyes flashed in its direction to find Katherine leaning relaxed against the wall. "Eli, I'm jealous," she pouted.

"Don't be," Elena monotonously spat. Flicking her eyes back to Elijah to show him her lingering irritation, she turned and walked back toward the stairwell, pushing past her elder doppelganger as she turned around the entry. The contact made the curly-haired brunette smile to herself.

Upon her exit, Elijah sighed and took a step to leave himself but was blocked when Katherine pushed forward into his path. "Just us now."

"Katherine, get out of my way," he hummed nonplussed, straightening his suit jacket and brushing a bit of nonexistent lint from his sleeve.

"Now why would I do that when we find ourselves in the ideal situation for me to thank you for saving my life yesterday?" She hummed stepping forward effectively backing him up against the far wall. Elijah allowed her to herd him there watching her disapprovingly yet momentarily intrigued. The feel of the wall against his back made him sigh. The wall was dusty and old; no doubt soiling his suit. Lifting his hands, he grasped her shoulders and guided her back a step gaining enough ground to separate himself from the bricks. It was the desired distance from the wall but not the desired result when he realized that Katherine had used the motion to lessen the distance between them.

The sudden contact was disarming and made Elijah's chastising expression fade and the grip on her shoulders to soften. Her brown eyes tilted up at him from underneath her lashes, and her lips curled in a devilish smirk. The small yellow light in the room glinted off the chunky necklace that hung across the exposed tops of her breasts.

"Do you have even the vaguest idea of how to be appropriate?" He asked.

The brunette's hands touched against the shirt on his stomach and began to make their way toward his chest, her bracelet making little sounds as it slid past his shirt buttons. "Tried appropriate. Didn't like it much."

"Katherine," he warned with less conviction than he had intended, her proximity clouding his resolve.

"Grumpy," she echoed pressing herself fully against him, her eyes smiling mischievously when his breath hinted to the slightest hitch. "Do you have even the vaguest idea of how to be inappropriate?"

His eyes had grown clouded and yet transfixed as he regarded her. Slowly, his hands raised from her shoulders; one nestling against the nape of her neck and the other finding a curl to twist around his fingers. "Tried inappropriate," he began with a dark smile lifting his mouth. "Didn't like it much."

Katherine grasped handfuls of his shirt and lifted up onto her toes until her face hovered only inches in front of his, "You obviously didn't do it right."

Elijah had barely any time to react. Katherine's mouth came crashing against his. Her movement was hot and frenzied as she pressed him back. His shoulders slammed against the brick wall he had tried so fruitlessly to avoid.

His intention to push her away dissolved. It was as if the floodgates opened within him. He had always wanted her, but it had never been right. In 1492 she had been too sweet and meant for his brother's sacrifice, and in the years that followed, he had sworn to hunt her for Klaus. The days preceding this one were occupied with the business of Silas, so to explore his reasons for asking his younger brother to spare her hadn't been a priority. But this. This was undeniable and visceral. His grip around the back of her neck tightened, and the fingers that had curled in her hair now wound tightly pulling her head back slightly to better allow him to explore the mouth he had dreamt of for centuries. The feeling of her grinding into him, the smell of her hair, and the warmth rolling off her skin had him reeling.

He knew he shouldn't be letting it happen, "Katerina—"

The movement of his lips ceased when the brunette grabbed hold with her teeth and bit down. A grunted moan escaped his mouth, and he suddenly forgot what had him hesitating. Advancing forward, Elijah drove Katherine back until her hips crashed into the edge of the freezer. In a swift motion he disentangled his hands from her hair and lifted her onto the lid. Pulling her legs until her body fit firmly against his.

Katherine's hands felt like they were everywhere at once setting him on spiral toward euphoria. Winding his hands back into her thick curls, his mouth devoured hers. Time seemed to both slow and hasten with each kiss.

He barely noticed how her hands slowly swept back the shoulders of his jacket, barely noticed when the jacket fell back over his arms, and wouldn't have noticed it fall to the ground had it not been for the tiniest clink he heard when the impact of its fall jarred the capped syringe within.

The sound woke him from his distraction. He pulled back from her in a small but quick movement.

"What is it?" she asked, her hands fisted in his shirt and eyes half closed.

Exhaling firmly, Elijah stepped back from her. Their brown eyes connected; hers with an expression of confusion; his with a look of grasped composure. "This is hardly the time, Katherine," he said shortly bending down to rapidly pick up his jacket and pace out of the basement alcove, his expensive shoes making a small patter on the stairs.

In the quiet of the little room, the brunette hopped down off the freezer, an apathetic look on her face. Pushing aside the large curls that had fallen over her eyes, she lazily followed the elder Mikaelson up the basement stairway. When she reached the landing, she was unsurprised to find her replica leaning up against the wall opposite, the sole of her Converse pressing against the wood paneling behind her.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" The straight-haired doppelganger sneered.

"Yes. I did. Thanks for asking."

"Whatever," she sighed pushing up off the wall. "Just give it back, so I can go on pretending you don't exist."

"I don't know. I kind of like it," the brunette teased twisting a curl around in her hand.

"Don't push me," she spat pulling at the bottom of her tee. "I can tear you apart."

"Careful, _Elena._ Your emotions are showing." Her heels clacked as she stepped forward holding out her arm.

* * *

The dark floorboards on the second floor landing creaked slightly beneath his feet and the heavy sound of thunder echoed through the halls. Everyone in the house had settled into the calm before battle. The Salvatores, his brother, and the more annoying, freshly showered doppelganger were conversing in the sitting room, the Donovan boy was out, and Elena was floating around somewhere. But he was seeking Caroline. He had been robbed of her visit that morning, and the lack of her had been eating at his mind. Now that Klaus knew the feel of her, the taste of her, his mind dwelled on little else. It had been far too long, it seemed, since he had her alone. Stefan had tried to keep him oblivious to the location of her room, but there was no hiding the smell of her coconut shampoo. Klaus hunted it through the halls.

He was just approaching her door when the knob turned and two voices drifted through the opening.

"Maybe one day," Caroline said hopefully.

"Don't hold your breath," Elena responded, stepping through the door. When her eyes met Klaus', she gestured toward the room, her shoes dangling from her hand as if she had just removed them. "She's all yours."

Klaus gave an awkward nod as she swerved around him on her path toward a door further down the hall, her messy bun bouncing as she walked. He took a moment to wonder what he had interrupted before Caroline's bright face tipped around the doorframe.

"Hel—" he started but didn't finish. The blonde's hand shot forward and covered his mouth with a light, feather touch. With a small smile that crinkled the edges of her eyes, she lifted a finger to her mouth in a plea for silence. Tapping her ear she indicated that someone may be listening.

Stepping lightly she slowly backed into her room, inviting him to follow. Locked in her gaze, Klaus stepped in after her.

The door clicked behind him after a small shove from Caroline. Reaching forward, her delicate hands lightly took hold of his jacket and drew him up against her. Their eyes seemed to dance with a hidden message. _ I missed you._

Klaus reveled in the sight before him. Her golden hair waved against her blushed cheeks; the pink tone mirroring the darker pucker of her mouth. Unable to hold himself at bay, he leaned forward touching his lips gingerly to hers.

Sighs fell heavily from each as if they had been waiting to breathe until they had touched again. He stepped forward closing the distance between them, reaching up to touch the cheeks that colored so nicely. In response, her hands lifted to wrap around his wrists and squeeze them in a small embrace.

The kiss was slow and lingering, long and full. Their lips moved softly, their mouths meeting in little more than a caress.

It was Caroline who pulled away first. "I'm glad you came," she whispered.

He meant to respond. He meant to say he couldn't stay away, but no words came to him. Instead he wound his arms around her dainty waist and lifted her up against him.

A small giggle trickled out of Caroline as she dangled slightly, her toes barely touching the floor. The sound brought out a dimpled smile on Klaus' features and with an exaggerated motion he sped them to the bed and fell back onto it bringing her down with him. The impact of the fall making them bounce a bit on the mattress.

Her laughter continued as she settled over him in a straddle and nuzzled into his neck. He inhaled deeply the scent that had led him to her and his arms tightened around her. "Let's never leave this room," he whispered huskily into her hair.

"Family meeting!" Damon's voice shouted from below.

And just like that, it was as if a bucket of water had been splashed on them. The air deflated from their lungs in dramatic groans. "This is it," Caroline said popping up into a sit. "This is the day I kill Damon."

Klaus chuckled from beneath her. "Have at it, Love. I'll follow you down shortly to catch the finale."

A wide, toothy smile curled up her mouth. "I'll see you down there," she said softly leaning close to his mouth, her words ghosting over his lips.

Lifting slightly off the mattress, Klaus met her with one last kiss, firmly taking her mouth with his own. When the pressure suddenly left him, his eyelids fluttered open to reveal an empty room. A contented smile graced his features.

* * *

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review! I will love you forever! And, don't be afraid to pass on constructive critique. **

**The next chapter (much longer at 7,600 words) should be up in two days, but if my weekend is busy, I'll post by Monday at the latest.**

**ONLY TWO CHAPTERS LEFT! **


	20. Chapter 20

**Wow, you guys have blown me away with your response to the last chapter. I'm glad the confusion was more interesting than frustrating. Thank you so much for your words!**

**A few notes on my version on Silas: **

***Similar to how he made Caroline _believe_ she needed to cut herself in the show, Silas can make the victims of his hallucinations _believe_ it's real. So, it's not as simple as someone saying, "You must be Silas because X,Y,Z." The group facing Silas does have the charms Shanna left them, so they are a little more resilient, but Silas is very powerful and it's a challenge, especially under duress.  
**

***He can create full hallucinations, not just ones associated with his own form.**

***He has to target his hallucinations, so if he is unaware of someone's presence, he will appear as himself.**

***I will refer to Silas as both "Silas" and as the person he is impersonating. I won't say "Silas/Tyler" or "Silas/Elijah". That's just annoying.**

**These are all probably things you would have picked up on your own, but I wanted it to be clear.**

_**Italics mean flashback. ;)**_

* * *

Caroline hopped down the stairway with an optimistic pep to her step. Everything was going well, but her good mood faded when she entered the Salvatore sitting room and was slapped with a thick tension that hung in the air. Everyone sat or stood in various spots about the room; Matt seemingly the most awkward addition from his place near the corner.

"What's going on?" She asked to no one in particular as lightning ignited and rattled the rectangular windows of the room.

"News," Damon hummed as he approached to hand Caroline a lowball of vodka-soda. "Where's Klaus?"

Noncommittally, she shrugged, plopped down on the sofa next to Stefan, and took a small sip of her drink. Realizing that Elena had probably mentioned him popping by to see her only a few minutes ago, she hummed, "He's here. I saw him in the hallway, like, five minutes ago."

"Speaking of me?" Klaus' voice rang from the arched entry of the sitting room where he leaned casually against the molding with arms crossed tightly against his chest.

"Took your time?" Damon said flippantly with an instigating glint behind his eyes.

"What is it then?" The Hybrid asked with a curious lift to his eyebrows and a stern warning in his eyes.

Stefan set down his glass on the small table in front of him, "Rebekah called. Slight hitch in the plan. Her plane couldn't land because of the storm. The plane was rerouted to Dulles International. She won't reach us in time to help with Silas."

"So much for that," Elena inserted from the armchair. "I guess we waited for nothing."

"Well, silver lining: no more waiting around," the dark haired Salvatore chimed in from the dry bar.

"So, what happens now?" Caroline asked, her eyes flicking between the younger Salvatore and Mikaelson.

"Now," Klaus said with a confident smirk, "We go kill ourselves an immortal." The walls vibrated with another crack of thunder. "May I suggest a jacket," he concluded standing off the wall, excitement evident in the backwards pull of his shoulders and playful smirk.

* * *

They were hardly silent as their heavy footfalls pushed north through the muddy cemetery. The sun was finally setting, though the heavy clouds created a feeling of twilight. Water fell sporadically yet forcefully as it filtered down through the dense tree cover. The sky occasionally lit with the electric storm.

Caroline's heart raced with nerves and was not the only one judging by the meaningful glances being passed between the two men and herself. Elena trudged dispassionately beside them. The silver charm that would protect her from Bonnie's expression pressed coolly against her skin.

As was the plan, Stefan began to speak loudly, "Where was she Elena?"

"Not far," she sighed. "I was by Jeremy's grave."

"Is this really a good idea? She tried to kill 'Lena last time we were here," Matt continued on.

Wanting to join in, Caroline smeared hope into her tone and spoke, "We can't give up on her, Matt. Bonnie isn't right. We need to get her to see reason."

"She's right, Matt," the male vampire confirmed stepping roughly on a fallen branch, the sharp crack splitting through the air. "We owe it to her."

"You shouldn't be here."

Elena froze. She knew those words, as they all knew the voice.

"Bonnie?" Caroline called out into the darkness ahead.

The rainfall made it difficult to hear the dark girl's approach, but her petite form soon appeared out of the trees ahead of them. Elena, Stefan, and Matt stepped forward, but Caroline hung back. She loved Bonnie. Bonnie was her best friend, but there was something she had to do that took precedence. She could only hope to avoid being thoroughly disabled by Bonnie's magic.

"Bon, do you know who we are?" Matt timidly asked creeping forward.

The small brunette paid him no mind focusing instead on the undead members of the party. "Leave," her small voice boomed as the wind picked up around them. Slowly her hand began to raise in front of her.

"Stefan," Elena called. "This is where it gets ugly!"

"Bonnie! It's Elena and Matt and Caroline," Stefan yelled. "It's me, Stefan. We aren't here to hurt you."

The wind continued to howl around them, but for a moment Bonnie's hand faltered down a bit. Her eyebrows came together slightly as if the names had confused her, and her eyes seemed to regain some clarity. It was short lived, "Leave!" She roared her eyes becoming glazed with white, her hand shooting up in position in front of her.

In one simultaneous wave, the vampires fell to their knees. Lights popped behind their eyes as worms of pain wiggled up their necks and burrowed into the crowns of their heads. Elena screamed out in pain followed shortly by Stefan's moans.

Caroline's teeth were gnashed together as she fought to remain focused. She couldn't fall to Bonnie; she needed to stay standing for Klaus and the others. She had to be able to reach him.

* * *

The stone façade of Fell's tomb stood before them. While its exterior walls were cracked and caked with moss, it stood proud amongst the other run down structures sharing the cemetery. They had waited a few moments after sending off Stefan and the others, and judging from their lack of witchy interception, the group had been successful in drawing off the little Bennett.

The stench of spoiled blood clung to the small building. Not the mildewed smell of death, but instead the metallic scent of spilled blood from days past. The odor while unpleasant was not enough to deter them, only warn them. A rain drenched Klaus, Elijah, Damon, and Katherine stepped forward opening the barred wooden doors to the tomb. The squeak hardly noticeable against the pounding of the storm.

The inside was speckled with used and drained blood bags littering the dirty gray floor. The first instinct was to assume Silas was not there. It was empty, but the lit gas lamps that hung in the corners suggested that its occupant was still close by.

"He's not here," Katherine said over her shoulder with an in-case-you-didn't-notice tone.

It was Elijah that spoke as he swept his hand over one of the two stone benches that occupied the center of the small room, "He's here. He's hiding."

"I'm surprised," the Hybrid said a bit loudly. His voice turned to a shout as he addressed the walls, "The oldest living immortal afraid to face his enemies? Are you scared, Silas?"

"Scared?" A voice sounded from the heavy stone door.

Surprised by the newcomer everyone spun around, the Mikaelson men's eyes growing large and shocked.

"Mikael?" Klaus breathed, unsettled.

Stepping forward, the grayed man from their past folded his hands behind his back. "Cowardice is your game, Boy. Not mine."

The tension in Elijah's shoulders was undeniable, as was the clench of Klaus' jaw.

"Leave it to you," he continued, "to release the most powerful immortal this world has ever seen. Do you ever tire of destroying everything you touch?" The sneer Mikael wore was vindictive and accusing. "Tell me, have you betrayed and killed the girl yet?"

The question was a stab into the Hybrid's ribs. Klaus took strides toward his father but was halted by his brother's firm grasp on his arm.

With a nonchalant tilt of his shoulders, Mikael spoke again, "Only a matter of time. If you ever had a talent, Niklaus, it was for killing the things that loved you."

"He is only bating you, Brother," Elijah's low voice sounded from beside him.

"Hello," came Damon's singsongy voice. "Earth to Originals! Snap out of it! May I remind you that Mikael is dead. Burned with a white oak stake."

As if the fog of a dream was lifting, Elijah and Klaus shook off the undeniable feeling that their father stood before them. While the eldest was calmed by the cleared head, it only seemed to anger Klaus more.

"Ah." Mikael said reaching into his jacket. "You mean one of these?" From the inner folds of his jacket he pulled the last white oak stake. The web of the melted Gilbert ring glimmered along its surface. "It was quite easy to pull the location of it from the head of your pretty doppelganger. Will you ever learn, Boy? Or are you forever committed to making the same mistakes over and over again?"

At the sight of the stake, the whole group drew in a sharp breath. Katherine was looking nervously out the door, the itch to run creeping in.

Klaus' eyes drifted to the floor briefly, blinking harshly. When his head rose up, a look of confidence was plastered across his face, the shine in his eyes his only tell. "Try it, Old Man."

Mikael's head shifted to the side as he contemplated the younger Original. "Having the cure has made you arrogant. But, no matter. I should be thankful to you for delivering it to me. Shall we begin?"

In a swift motion Mikael's form seemed to blur away. In an instinctual reaction the small group backed towards each other and against the far wall. Silence descended.

"Come out and play, Silas," Damon purred lowly and impatiently when after several seconds nothing happened.

A sharp female scream sounded from outside the tomb. A familiar scream.

Everyone perked at the sound, but Damon's eyes contorted in fear. "Elena?" His whispered voice echoed through the stone room before he dashed out into the rain.

"Damon, no!" It was Katherine that caught him round the arm before he could stray too far into the woods. "It's not he—"

A strong shove sent her flying against a nearby tree. The thin trunk bowing and splintering on impact. Damon had barely anytime to understand the motion before a hand gripped firmly around his throat. He felt the tiniest of cracks beneath the hand before the pressure left abruptly replaced by an empty-handed Klaus growling frustratedly in front of him, glancing around to find his evasive prey.

Silas was playing with them. The snap of wood would sound to the right, only to be countermanded by a swish of leaves to the left.

Grabbing Katherine's arm roughly, Elijah joined the others pulling her with him. The rain came down in heavy sheets obscuring their vision. A whisper was barely discernible above the white noise of the water fall, "Here." The word came from one direction, and then another. First the taunting tone of Mikael, then the chime of Elena, followed by Stefan. A louder, harsher whispered laugh echoed from the empty space in front of them.

Hurried footsteps sounded as someone came dashing around the tomb from the south. Klaus' heart jumped into his throat at the sight of her wet, blonde curls. "Klaus?!" Caroline stood staring at them, worry on her face as she cried fearfully out for him. She didn't see Mikael appear behind her.

Time slowed for Klaus. He seemed to register everything at once yet nothing but the image of Caroline standing helpless and unknowing in front of their foe. Elijah and Katherine looked on surprised while Damon took a few steps forward trying to reach her, the splashed water from his footfalls seeming to barely move as he sped forward. The Hybrid stood horrified. There was no time to stop it. It was as if he knew before it happened, doing nothing to dim the pain of what he would see unfold before him. He watched the stake puncture through her back and into her heart . . . watched Mikael's malicious smile as the cold rainwater dripped down in torrents over his nose and chin . . . watched her mouth open wide in a silent scream as she slowly fell to her knees in the sopping mud in front of Fell's tomb.

Damon stopped mid-run at the sight of his friend felled before him, his eyebrows arched in pain. Elijah's hands tightened around Katherine's arms when she let out a jagged breath of alarm. Silas blurred off into the rain. And Klaus' heart seemed to stop as a shocked roar erupted from his chest, "No!" He could not tear his eyes from his beautiful Caroline's face dipped in mud; her skin greying and her hand stretched out across the ground as if she had been reaching out to him.

It was then, locked in that moment, that a sharp pain shuddered through his chest obliterating his heart. In horrid agony his eyes bulged sharply, and he fell to his knees, crying out. He looked to his brother and could see Elijah yell out to him, but he could hear nothing but the rain. He looked at Katherine and Damon, their shocked faces regarding him fearfully. He looked down to see the bloodied tip of the white oak stake protruding out through his chest, and he felt the hand of Silas gripping his shoulder for leverage from behind. He had been staked. Lastly, feeling the flames jump up out of the wound, he looked at Caroline. A small, contented smile curled up the side of his mouth when he saw . . . she wasn't there . . . not dead . . . not greyed and muddied. An illusion. His skin crawled with flame as his body dropped to the ground. None too slowly, darkness took him away.

* * *

Watching his friends fall made Matt's heart jump into his throat. Dashing forward he took hold of Bonnie's arm. "Bon! Stop!" Spinning her around to face him, the others gasped in relief as the Bennett witch's concentration broke. "We are your friends. We care about you!"

Distressed, the dark skinned brunette began to shake, her head twitching slightly to the side. Her hands lifted against his chest tense and bent. The wind seemed to fade to a light breeze.

Matt's eyes looked around frenzied and uncertain. He dared hope she was waking up. His hope was fleeting though when a rough gale blew into his chest.

"No!" Her tiny voice bellowed. Dainty hands pressed flatly into his chest, an invisible push sending him flying back, colliding with the edge of an intricate tombstone.

Elena's high voice carried in the wind toward Stefan, "Matt confuses her!"

The sound of the young vampire's voice drew the attention of Bonnie, and soon the doppelganger was back on her knees. Stefan went to rush to Elena's side, but he paused when the wind suddenly stopped. Elena's yelps the only sound on the air. Caroline and Stefan slowly turned to Bonnie.

The space around the Bennett girl sparking and snapping with the energy in her.

"Stefan, what's going on?" Caroline's asked fear dripping on her words.

"I don't know," he gruffly said, his brow jumping in concern. "Ah!" He jumped pulling Shanna's charm away from his skin. His blonde companion quickly did the same. "She's trying to destroy the charms!"

Bonnie's energy seem to grow, more and more space around her became alive with electricity. The more power she gathered the louder Elena's screams became and the hotter the now glowing red charms grew.

Caroline sped over to where Matt stumbled to stand clawing desperately to remove the charm. She took hold of the metal in his hand and cast it to the ground. Throwing his arm over her shoulders, she walked him forward. "Matt, you have to keep trying. We can't get close enough."

They had only walked several yards toward their dark friend when a sharp, deep scream echoed back through the trees. Bonnie's head snapped in the direction, and Elena gasped in reprieve, her nose bleeding freely. Stefan gathered her up in his arms and joined Matt and Caroline where they had frozen in front of the witch. "She can't keep this up. Bonnie is focusing on her," Stefan whispered hugging Elena to him. When Caroline didn't respond his eyes flashed to her.

The blonde stood supporting her friend, her sight locked on the ground in front of her; her blues eyes bright and terrified. A long moment stretched between them before her gaze flashed up to his. She breathed, "Klaus." The scream had been Klaus. It was time for her to go.

"Stefan, take Matt," she directed pushing Matt at him yelping when the shift moved the scalding charm across her skin. Their burns were deep and the smell of singed flesh mingled with the wet scent in the air. "Elena's right." Her bold eyes jumped to the witch that had shifted her attention back to them, her hand slowly rising in their direction once more. "It's Matt. Matt's human. He's not a threat. Just a nuisance. Get Matt to her. No matter what happens. Matt will wake her up."

"Caroline, what are you doing?" Confusion and concern were etched into Stefan's features as his gaze jumped back and forth between her and Bonnie.

"I know what I'm doing. Wake Bonnie up," she reiterated taking one last glimpse at her lost friend.

"Caroline, no," he implored reaching for her but failing with the encumbrance of both Elena and a weighted Matt.

"I have to." Caroline turned and sped from the scene.

Stefan took a deep breath squaring his shoulders. His left arm went limp dropping Elena to the ground beside him. Holding the quarterback up with him, he rushed the young witch.

* * *

The flames that bloomed from Klaus' body were dimmed by the heavy rainfall, but the rain did not stop the greying that spread up from his chest paralyzing his movements forever.

Elijah stood aghast as Silas, still the embodiment of their father, Mikael, reached down toward the body of his brother. His wet hand slipped into Klaus' jacket, steam still rising off of the heated cloth. When it emerged from the folds, Silas held the capped syringe swirling with red liquid. An accomplished smile spread across the immortal's face.

A gurgled heave issued from behind the last Mikaelson son. Katherine had vomited a dark mass of blood. "Katherine?!" Elijah yelled rushing to her not noticing the square of Damon's shoulders as he watched the curly haired doppelganger drop.

Damon saw his imminent future unfolding in front of him as dark veins curled sickeningly under Katherine's skin and her eyes began to flutter. He knew this. Stefan had detailed this very thing to him. _This_ had happened to Sage after Finn's death. If Katherine was falling, he was next. In a surge of reckless courage, Damon charged Silas.

The immortal's face did not change as he caught the elder Salvatore by the throat. Squeezing tightly, Silas forced the vampire to his knees. At first Damon clawed at the hand laced firmly around his neck, but heaviness began to take him. His eyes dropped to the hands in front of him. His own hands. Hands littered with swollen, black veins. A sharp growl cracked from between his lips as his eyes bulged in a mixture of utter anger and fear. His fatigue weighted arms fell to his sides and his diaphragm convulsed in great heaves as the black blood spewed up and spilled out between clenched teeth.

The grin on Silas' face was wide and mirthful as he dropped the corpse of Damon Salvatore to the dirt of the cemetery. Looking up his cold eyes met with his last standing opponent.

Elijah was kneeled in the mud. The body of the doppelganger hung limply in his arms. His eyes were locked with Silas'. He had never wanted another creature dead more than in that moment. His last living brother lay burned and drenched; the only women he ever thought he could love an empty blood bag in his lap.

Reveling in the damage before him, Silas lifted the syringe up and nodded his head to the last male Original in thanks.

Elijah's mouth smirked up. Their eyes still locked, he gently placed Katherine on the ground and stood in front of Silas.

As the stare grew longer, Silas' jovial expression became more and more sour until his eyes flashed down to the red fluid in his hand. A hardy, frustrated yell issued from his mouth. In one solid, fluid motion, he violently threw the syringe into the face of a nearby tombstone. The immortal's breaths came out jagged. The silent glare stretched between them for many moments before Mikael's thin lips curved back into a smile and an amused laugh trickled out. "Clever family indeed."

"Honestly," Elijah said, "I'm surprised you didn't figure it out sooner." A flash of lightning lit the sky. Without hesitation, he charged Silas ready to cure the creature that had murdered his brother.

The immortal was taken aback by the sudden movement, but parried to the side dodging the first blow. Elijah and Silas grappled in a brutal assault against each other. While the immortal's strength was greater that the Original's, Elijah had more skill in the fight. Silas had lived more years, but his experiences dwarfed in comparison to the eldest Mikaelson's. Many wars had been fought with the help of his capable hands. It took little time for Silas to determine he had to change tactics.

Elijah landed a harsh punch onto the immortal's face but was confronted with empty air when his fist shot forward for the second hit. He spun around attempting to locate his enemy, but he could see no one.

A loud crack sounded in the air and Elijah yelled out when the pain of his newly busted kneecaps registered. The Original fell to the ground, his knees looking mashed through the new rips in his slacks. Above him stood a cackling Mikael with a now shattered, thick shovel handle resting in his hands.

"Primitive, but effective," he gloated. Silas lifted the wooden object above his head ready to impale Elijah into the mud beneath him.

The dark haired man could only sit up, but any more movement was near impossible with his legs impotent beneath him. Looking up at the warlock, he prepared to defend himself as best he could. A sharp blur streaked into his vision. He had barely a moment to witness Silas flying off toward the tomb and crashing into its side. The old stone cracked from foundation to roof, but the immortal did not pierce the siding. Instead his body dropped to the wet dirt, unmoving. Shifting his sight to his new ally, his eyes took in the blonde hair and the stance of someone who had just threw her shoulder into a locked door. "Rebekah?"

Turning to peer down at her big brother, Rebekah gave an exasperated smile, "You are so lucky there was no traffic."

The siblings took a short moment to laugh before a muffled groan was heard from the immortal already beginning to stir.

A sudden rush of panic for his sister overtook him, "Rebekah, he is too strong. You must run."

The blonde Original looked frantically from her brother to the stirring form of her father, rain falling generously down her hair and into her eyes. "The cure! The cure! Elijah, where is it?! There's time!"

His hand shot immediately to his breast pocket. Removing the syringe, he placed it in his sister's outstretched hand. "Rebekah. Make it count," he loudly reminded her over the rain.

Turning away from her brother and toward the oldest creature on the earth, Rebekah's fingers curled around the glass in her hand and a devious smile curled up the side of her mouth. Silas' mouth.

* * *

Water flew out from her feet as she ran through deep puddles in the direction of the tomb. Caroline looked around desperately trying to locate the small structure in the dark. The light of the full moon helped, but it wasn't until another bolt of lightning struck out against the night sky that she caught sight of it. Tucking her wet hair behind her ear, she listened. The rainfall was torrential, but the harsh cry of the elder Original was sharp in the air.

Caroline mustered her courage. 'This is it.' Reaching into her pocket, the young blonde extracted their only weapon. The one she had stolen. The cure.

_The blonde vampire was in her room at the Salvatore boarding house where she had retreated after the meeting that morning. She was incredibly nervous as would be obvious by her pacing and her nail biting if there was anyone there to witness it. The sound of the door being flung open caused Caroline's face to spin in the direction._

_The curly-haired doppelganger strode into her room, her heels clicking against the floorboards._

_"How did it go?" Caroline asked, the tension still present in her shoulders._

_A short laugh came from the brunettes lip's, "It was easy." Reaching her hand immodestly into her bra, she removed the capped syringe swirling with the glimmering, red cure. With a flick of her wrist she tossed it to Caroline. _

_The blonde nodded to herself with a smile. "And he didn't notice the switch?"_

_"He was a little pre-occupied," her company laughed grabbing a hair tie from Caroline's side table. "May I ask why it had to be me and not the obvious choice?"_

_"Silas can't know. Therefore she can't know."_

_"Makes sense," the brunette nodded stepping out of her heels. "Look at you being all tricky."_

_Caroline blew out a huff of air. "The plan was flawed. Someone had to do something. Klaus and Elijah are arrogant. They are too accustomed to being the oldest and baddest."_

_A small smile crept up the doppelganger's mouth. Lifting her arms she pulled her large curls into a high, messy bun and unclasped the chunky necklace that weighted her neck. "This is yours," she boredly mumbled tossing the necklace on Caroline's side table. "Are we done?" She asked yanking her top up a few inches to conceal her exposed cleavage._

_"Yeah," the blonde vampire confirmed._

_Bending down to pick up the heels with her fingers, the brunette made her way toward the door._

_Caroline chirped, "Thanks, Elena."_

_Elena turned on her bare feet to regard her once friend. With a small nod a pleased smile appeared on her lips, "No, thank you. I've been bored out of my mind around here. A girl needs to have a little fun every once in a while. Besides, I just dealt a blow to both Elijah and Katherine. All in all, I call today a success."_

_Caroline walked to her armoire and tucked the cure into the jacket she had hanging there. Over her shoulder, she murmered, "I wish you had done it for me . . . because I'm your friend."_

_"Don't get sentimental on me, Caroline," Elena breathed opening the door._

_"Maybe one day," Caroline said hopefully._

_"Don't hold your breath," Elena responded, stepping out of the room only to be stopped by Klaus standing tall in front of her. When her eyes met his, she gestured toward the room, her shoes still dangling from her hand. "She's all yours." Moving nonchalantly around the Hybrid, Elena walked down the hall to her room, her bun bouncing behind her as she went._

Caroline stepped lightly as she curled herself unseen around one of the thicker trees near the tomb. Leaning to the side she peaked around the large trunk. There she saw Elijah crippled on the ground looking up at an unknown man with panic on his face.

His hoarse voice sang out over the sound of rainfall, "Rebekah, he is too strong. You must run."

Caroline's eyebrows came together in confusion. 'What?' She scoured the area, but there was no sign of the blonde Original. Just the man. A man that she could only describe as average. Average height. Average build. Average hair color. Caroline was feeling beyond bewildered when yet another flash of lightning lit the area around them. There, fallen in the mud, were three bodies. Her eyes immediately focused in on the seriously burned body of Klaus. A cry threatened to tear from her lips, so her hand jumped up to muffle it, her body twisting back behind the tree and away from the sight. Caroline's throat tightened and hot tears joined the rain that ran down her cheeks.

"The cure," she heard the man say calmly. "The cure. Elijah, where is it? There's time."

Gulping down the hurt, Caroline shook her head trying to shake off the overwhelming emotions ripping at her chest. Spinning again, she glanced back at the elder Original and the man.

Elijah's hand jumped into his ruined suit jacket and pulled out the syringe Elena had switched out only hours before.

'What is he doing?' She frantically wondered watching him hand over the faux-cure.

"Rebekah. Make it count," he said loudly with a look of faith shining behind his eyes.

Caroline's eyebrows shot up towards her hairline. 'He thinks he's talking to Rebekah! That means . . . ' Her blue orbs flitted over to view the man once more. Not just any man. Silas. She could only deduce that the immortal hadn't detected her yet, and didn't know to glamour her perception of him. Caroline's fingers gripped tightly around the cure in parallel to Silas standing only 5 yards in front of her. Her blood boiled at his audacity as he peered proudly down at his hand, a devious smile curling up the side of his mouth. Lifting her hands in front of her, Caroline removed the cap covering the thin needle of the syringe.

"Rebekah! What are you waiting for?!" Elijah shouted desperately gesturing towards the image of the immortal's body lying in the mud. He struggled to stand, movement partially returning to his already healing legs.

Rebekah's visage turned to him and inhaled sharply to speak, "You didn't thin—"

Silas could not finish for Caroline had sped forward at her quickest pace jamming the cure into the artery in his neck.

Elijah sat shocked. At first confused, he watched the syringe he had just handed Rebekah fall from her pale hands into the mud, but when he peered closer at the needle sticking brutally into her neck, the glimmering red liquid flowing out of the glass vial, he understood. Caroline had just used the actual cure. And she had used it on the wrong person. A blood curdling scream sounded out, "What have you done?!" He watched as his sister fell down to the mud in front of him convulsing rapidly. "You've doomed us!" He yelled standing enough to grasp Caroline by the arms and tackle her to the ground.

"Elijah, no!" She protested shrilly in fear when she felt his hand plummet into her chest grasping her heart. "Elijah!"

"You've doomed us all," he murmered quietly, his eyes swimming in tears.

"Ask me again!" She choked out hysterically as hot blood mixed with rain water and glided down her sides.

The Original paused seeming confused, his voice desperate, "Ask you what?" His hand tightened around her most precious muscle.

"Ask me . . . again," she sputtered. "Ask me what I have done?"

Elijah shook his head and peered over at his seizing baby sister.

The blonde mustered every ounce of strength she had and reached forward sharply grabbing the lapels of his jacket. Her stare was strong as she tried to impress upon him the importance of her words, " I. . . can't lie . . .ask me."

His eyes widened in understanding. Elijah loosened his grip around her quickly beating heart and his voice quaked when he asked, "What have you done?"

Caroline dropped down to the ground in relief, mud soaking into her blonde locks. "I just cured Silas."

Elijah's brows came together tightly. There was a wet sound as his hand retracted from her chest. Caroline took in a deep breath of night air, coughing roughly. Turning, he peered down at Rebekah. The seizing was slowing. He watched transfixed as Rebekah's jerked movements became seldom and then stopped, her body going limp in unconsciousness. A gasp pulled sharply into his lungs when in a blink, Rebekah was no longer Rebekah, but an unrecognizable man. His eyes jumped to where he had seen the form of his father hit the stone wall, a form no longer there. He looked flabbergasted over to Caroline and then back to the man next to him. Silas.

Caroline sat up gingerly cringing at the effort. The pressure in her chest slowly dissipated but still lingered behind. One slender hand lifted to touch the spot still soaked with gore. The ground below her was 2 inches deep in water and the rainfall was a steady white noise. Dark mud fell from her wet hair dirtying the soft pale of her cheeks.

"Caroline." Elijah said softly from beside her.

The young vampire lifted her eyes to him. In a moment when those brown orbs should have been twinkling in victory only deflated sadness resided. In a flash of understanding, Caroline remembered whose body lay not far off. The thought tore the air from her lungs and refreshed her tears anew as she crawled to her feet and scrambled toward Klaus' body.

Falling to her knees next to him, she grabbed his jacket and rubbed his cheek. She silently thanked the darkness and her watering eyes for her inability to see his handsome features marred with burns and greyed with death. She had seen it already.

Her brain swirled with thoughts, but only one made its way to the tip of her tongue. Twisting over her shoulder, she cried, "Elijah, what happened?"

The Original sat silently in the mud by the no-longer-immortal's body, his knees lifted to support his elbows and his hands grasping at his dark hair. His eyes rested firmly on the ground between his legs. "Silas had the stake," he mumbled meakly. "He stole the white oak stake from Elena. He read its location when she was here the other night. He thought Niklaus had the cure."

Caroline felt as if once again a hand squeezed her heart, "No! But . . . no! He's not completely burned! It can't have been white oak." Her voice cracked with every word as she collapsed slightly onto Klaus' chest.

Even Elijah's voice was strained with grief, "The rain. It put out the flames. I saw it, Caroline. It was the white oak stake. Katherine and Damon fell just after—"

The dark haired man's voice faltered as he quickly raised his head to look at the blonde. "Caroline, how are you alive?"

A puff of happiness jumped out of her mouth. "I was made with Damon's blood. If he is dead, I would have followed right behind him!" Blinking quickly, Caroline wiped the water from her eyes. She roughly shoved Klaus' jacket to either side of his chest. Searching for any sign of injury she couldn't help but laugh with relief, "There's no wound, Elijah! There's no burns!"

In a moment Elijah was beside her, "Check his back! Check! That's where it went in!"

Rolling Klaus into her arms her hand rubbed the cloth covering his back. Her laughs came out in great sobs, "There's no hole!"

The eldest Original's shoulders sagged as a great breath fell from his lungs.

Bending down close over him, Caroline hugged Klaus' body to her. She began to shake him with small rocks. "Klaus. Klaus," she said trying to rouse him.

Rain collected in the corners of Klaus' eyes as the water continued to drop from above. He remained silent and unmoving.

Moving her hand to his chest, she could feel no heartbeat. "Come on Klaus." She watched him closely, but he never moved.

"Caroline, something's wrong," Elijah said distressed looking over at Silas' body. "Silas is unconscious. They should be waking. Their hearts. They aren't beating."

It was if the Original set off a spark within her. A spark that ignited a harsh fear. Looking down into the Hybrid's face she traced the sharp lines of his cheekbones with her fingers. "No. He's not dead." Caroline leaned forward, her lips touching lightly against the shell of his ear, "Wake up, Nik."

A long moment passed with only the sound of the rain hovering in the air. The blonde pressed her forehead against his wishing with everything she had inside her. Then—

_thum_

Caroline froze. Holding him tightly she listened again.

_thumthum_

_thumthum thumthum_

_thumthum thumthum thumthum_

The undeniable sound of his heart felt like a great miracle to the young vampire as a soft smile lifted her lips.

In a sudden movement, Klaus' eyes opened widely and a deep pull of air sucked into his lungs. Caroline jumped back slightly. His blue eyes focused in on the dirtied yet still beautiful face of the woman that looked down at him from above. His muddy hand lifted to curl into her hair and pull her face against his once again. His breath wooshed in and out of his lungs as he regained his composure and his body came alive again. Their eyes locked together, they didn't hear the quick inhales as Damon and Katherine jolted to life beside them. They didn't see Elijah speed to Katherine lifting her into him, and they didn't see the relief in the doppelganger's eyes as her hands fisted handfuls of his soaked shirt.

Klaus could not stop looking at her. He had been so frightened that Silas had killed her. The thought reminded him, "Where's Silas?"

Wordlessly, Caroline shifted to show him the body that lay not far off.

Klaus' eyebrows furrowed slightly. "He's alive."

"He's cured," she said lightly, smiling. A hint of pride present in her features.

Gazing back at her, his eyes shifted lingeringly between hers. Raising his hand, he tucked some of her grimy tresses behind her ear. Tilting forward, Klaus pressed his lips firmly against Caroline's. Slowly the Hybrid sat, pushing her forward with his kiss until it was she that reclined in _his_ arms.

Damon sat with his legs widely out in front of him feeling disoriented and confused while watching Elijah nuzzle Katherine and Klaus kiss Caroline. "Not that this isn't touching! But will someone tell me what the hell just happened?!" His glib voice seemed to ring out against the silence of the group.

Parting from Klaus, Caroline spit out a sharp, humored laugh at Damon's blatant disregard for one of the most romantic moments of her life.

Embracing her one more time, Klaus pulled away and stood. His look became dark as he glared over at Silas, heavy steps bringing him closer to the senseless once-immortal. Everyone seemed to stand also in anticipation of what the Hybrid would do. Heavy boots sunk into the drenched soil by Silas' face. Klaus lifted one foot and roughly pushed him to his back.

The abrupt motion stirred the warlock. His eyes fluttered open. He was disoriented but quickly realized he was lying on the ground in the rain. Looking up his eyes focused on the Original Hybrid crouched beside him. Before he could speak, before he could react, Klaus had his cold, freshly resurrected hands wrapped behind his head and clutching his chin.

With one swift motion, a loud crack sounded through the graveyard by Fell's tomb. Silas was dead.

* * *

**Please please please review! I'm really curious what you guys think! It was really hard to write about a villain that works in hallucinations. I hope it made sense.**

**For those of you who were like, "Why was Klaus happy that Caroline was alive when he was dying? Obviously, he knows that if he dies, she dies." If you caught onto this, my only defense is that Klaus probably only had time for one final thought before dying, and that thought was not analyzed, but merely instant and genuine.**

**And for those of you who were like, "If Klaus wasn't really stabbed with the white oak stake, why did Katherine and Damon follow?" I say that it was part of the illusion. If Silas could make Klaus believe he was dying, he could make Katherine, and Damon believe the same thing. **

**Only one chapter left I'm sad to say. It'll be up Wednesday night. Just between us, I'll post it tomorrow if I can get this story to at least 250 reviews. ;P**


	21. Chapter 21

**Here it is! The final chapter of Protection and Betrayal!**

**This chapter is incredibly fluffy. Deal with it ;P**

* * *

With one swift motion, a loud crack sounded through the graveyard by Fell's tomb. Silas was dead.

"Well done, Brother," the Hyrbid spoke looking down at their beaten enemy sure that it had been his big brother that incapacitated Silas.

"Let us have this conversation out of this rain, shall we?" Leading Katherine with one arm, Elijah motioned them into the tomb.

Caroline felt like a drowned rat as she plopped down on one of the benches within the stone walls. Damon lifted one leg over the bench, straddling the spot next to her.

Klaus, looking both serious and tired, took his place sitting across from the blonde. His body leaned forward slightly as he scanned her for any injuries.

She noticed and smiled, "I'm fine."

His face remained stoic as he nodded and turned to his brother.

"As to your praise, Niklaus," Elijah began standing off to the side, "You owe it to Miss Forbes."

Caroline stared intently at the hands she had folded in her lap trying not to smile or cringe; she could feel Klaus' eyes boring into her.

"You may be interested to know, Brother, that you did not have the cure in your possession when we came to this place tonight." The slow tilt of his younger brother's head and the heavy glare behind his eyes would have terrified even the toughest of adversaries, but Elijah was nonplussed by his predictable response.

Klaus' tone was deep and laced with anger, "Excuse me?"

"I had it with me," the elder brother continued even when the Hybrid tensely shot to his feet ready to throttle his sibling. An impressed smile curled along Elijah's mouth when his hand hovered over his breast pocket and he peered over at Caroline, "At least that is what I believed. Fortunately for us, we were both mistaken as to the location of the cure." A short chortle rattled in his chest. "To be honest, I am quite perplexed as to how she managed it."

Klaus was quick to pick up on the meaning in his brother's words as he spun his head down towards his lovely blonde vampire.

Once again, the epitome of well timed injections, Damon spouted, "You stole our only weapon from Elijah?! . . . color me impressed, Barbie."

"Silas got to your 'cure' first," Elijah said gesturing to Klaus, "when he 'staked' you. He then discovered that it wasn't real and turned his focus on me. He took my 'cure' second when he fooled me into believing he was our baby sister come to join the fray."

Caroline waited for Elijah to continue, but he did not. A long silence filled the room. She could feel every eye on her, and it was making her squirm. Taking a cleansing breath, she looked up at the man standing in front of her. "I told you the plan was flawed. You were so certain it would work. I saw Elijah with the cure this morning in your room, but I played it off as if I hadn't. I didn't realize until after our meeting, though, that he had taken it from you." A slight, confident smile lit her face. "At first I was going to tell you, but then I realized that it was exactly what needed to happen. I couldn't take the cure from you. You were too guarded. I wouldn't have gotten close enough. But Elijah. Elijah was over-confident. He thought no one knew and therefore didn't bother to notice when a certain someone swapped out the real cure for a fake one."

It was now Elijah's turn to be stared at by all in the room. His jaw tensed as his own glare now turned over to the place Katherine had slid down the tomb wall and planted her bum on the stone floor.

Seeing the unworded accusation, Katherine put her hands up in the air. "Don't look at me! I just played pretend."

The elder Original's brows furrowed, "If not you, then—"

"Katherine would have been the obvious choice," Caroline said gently, yet matter-of-factly, "But she would be with you three." Her small finger pointed to Klaus, Elijah, and Damon. "She couldn't know I had taken it or else Silas would have known too." She paused briefly, feeling giddy and simultaneously guilty about revealing the final bit. "Good thing there is more than one Petrova doppelganger."

In one split second, three things happened. Damon smiled sardonically and rubbed his hands across his face. Elijah tensed both appalled and embarrassed. And Klaus sat back down on the bench, a look of intrigue and respect giving him a smirk of his own as he gazed over at Caroline.

Taking a moment to absorb what he heard, Elijah rounded on Katherine. "You impersonated Elena this afternoon."

Katherine smiled, "Not my favorite trick."

"But . . . your bracelet."

"Yeah," Katherine drawled, "It's a good thing Elena and I have the same ring size and our little show was in a basement on a stormy day." Her smile became slightly bitter, "How was it? Was her performance a _pleasure_ to behold?"

Elijah's eyes grew to three times their normal size. "Am I to believe that—" He couldn't finish. Leaning up against one of the resident coffins, he lifted his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Remind me to turn Elena's emotions back on the _minute_ we return to the boarding house." The Original was very distraught by this new revelation.

"Why do _you_ look so upset?!" Damon piped in indignantly. "I'm pretty sure— now, correct me if I'm wrong—you macked with _my_ girlfriend. Perspective, please."

Lifting his eyes to the ceiling, Elijah sighed.

It was then that they heard footsteps coming toward the tomb. Still on alert from the fight, they all stood poised for anything. When Stefan's head poked around the wooden door, a collective breath was released. He mosied in supporting a weak and bloody Elena. He was followed shortly after by an exhausted Bonnie.

At the sight of the Bennett witch, tension returned to the room.

"Relax," the dark girl said. "I'm me."

"Keep goin'," Matt's voice chimed from outside the door. "Some of us are still getting rained on." The quarterback squeezed into the lit tomb beside Bonnie. He looked around at the group huddled inside making a mental count. Satisfied with the number, he gave a small nod and his classic, debonair smile. Throwing his thumb up over his shoulder, he gestured outside. "I'm guessing the dead guy is Silas?"

* * *

Loud music blared from the speakers in the sitting room of the Salvatore boarding house. It had been hours since they had returned soggy and deflated. Many showers later, they had been called downstairs by the boisterous beats of Pink's "So What!" It had been surprising to enter the room and see the two doppelgangers elbow deep in the good bourbon as they danced around the room enthusiastically, jumping and smiling insisting that the victory party had begun. Even though they disliked each other, both were glad to get the ball rolling. Damon was more than happy to join in the festivities. Stefan and Bonnie had smiled as they settled into the couch to watch their uninhibited housemates. Katherine eventually went and dragged Elijah down to join them, dancing her way down the stairs while firmly toting him behind her with a firm, over-the-shoulder grip on his tie. Caroline had also been drawn by the laughter and "woo"s jovially expelling from the doppelgangers. She couldn't find Klaus, and there was nowhere better to be. Their last partygoer came in shortly after the heavy drinking started. Rebekah was excited that the threat was gone but incredibly disappointed that she had missed the action. Damon easily distracted her with a goofy, inappropriate dance and two fingers of scotch.

"So wait! You did what?!" Caroline yelped spitting out some of her vodka-soda. It was officially the wee hours of the morning and the party had mellowed to the group of them drinking and talking rambunctiously from their respective places around the room.

"I hate to say I told you so," Elena said lifting her glass to Matt.

"I didn't know what else to do!" Matt said shrugging his shoulders helplessly. "Elena was bleeding everywhere, Stefan was screaming like a little girl in the mud—"

"Thanks!" Stefan yelled drunkenly.

"Sorry, Man. You were. And I was talking to a tiny, little Bennett wall! I panicked!"

Caroline could not stop laughing, "So you kissed her?!"

"It was Elena's idea!" He pathetically blamed.

"So Bonnie," Damon said smoothly. "How was it to kiss the quarterback? Obviously it did something for you." His smile became roguish as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Everyone laughed when an upholstered pillow collided with his face thrown by the petite witch herself.

Caroline was chuckling loudly when she heard the quiet click of the front door. Glancing around the room, it seemed no one else noticed. The blonde stood and walked to the hallway while everyone carried on making fun of Bonnie's fairytale kiss. There wasn't anyone in the hall, but motion at the top of the stairs caught her eye. Though he disappeared quickly into the east wing, she knew it was him. Turning around, Caroline decided no one would miss her and began to make her way up the stairs after him.

She felt nervous. She had deceived him. She didn't know what to expect.

Timidly, she crept down the hallway towards his room. Upon reaching it, she considered knocking, but the act seemed silly considering he was probably very aware of her presence outside his door. Reaching forward, she turned the knob and hesitantly stepped in his space.

Klaus sat on the edge of the bed wearing his signature henley and dark jeans. He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees and fingers clasped in front of him. Her feet tapped over the hard wood on the floor, and he peered up at her. His expression was fatigued and contemplative.

"Are you angry with me?" She muttered feeling like a little girl in trouble.

Closing his eyes, he raked his hand over his face, "I don't quite know what to think of you."

"Klaus, I—"

"I try to understand," he began, "but your actions puzzle me." He smiled without any happiness or amusement and stood. "Let's go back in time in our most recent adventures, shall we? First, when asked to accompany me to London you tell me to drown in a puddle."

Caroline cringed slightly remembering her words.

Klaus continued, using hand movements to illustrate. "Then in an odd turn of events you show up at my home mere hours later to tell me you were quite willing to take the trip. We arrive in my London flat where I discover you snooping around in Elijah's office looking for what I can only imagine was information on your estranged mutt." His demeaner altered to one of irritation as his story forged ahead.

"I then don't speak to you until two days later, minus a few offhanded statements thrown over your shoulder in passing, where you proceed to take me out on a dance floor and grind up on me like it was something you actually enjoyed but we both know was just some sort of diversion. I don't know what you were trying to accomplish, but it was hardly a subtle deception. And a bonus for the evening, you tell me you do not hate me and don't want to lie to me anymore. Then again, you also say that you are keeping things from me.

"Let's skip ahead to the next day where we share a pleasant day together followed by a lovely encounter in the ranch stables only to be followed by an argument by the car on the way back in which you say the whole thing shouldn't have happened and accuse me of manipulating and seducing you." Klaus' eyebrows lifted, and he took a few steps forward as he asked, "You having fun yet, Love? Because there's more."

"Klaus—" she tried to interject.

"Fast forward to that night," he went on in a full blown rant. "This is where things get fun. You flippantly brush me off and reassure me that our outing had meant nothing to you and then low and behold, I have a certain blonde enthusiastically responding to my advances while I've got her legs wrapped tightly around me." He pauses for effect. "Confused? Me too. But things level slightly as you not only show up to save my brother and myself from certain failure, but more specifically, you betray your _boyfriend_ by choosing to prevent Katherine from curing me. You even go as far as to not cure me yourself while holding onto the very thing that could have prevented me from hurting you or your friends ever again. Why? Who knows?

"Not two hours later, after I save you from my crazed brother mind you, you join me in my room to once again press yourself against me. From then on we journey to Miami where we spend an incredible night together, but one day back in Mystic Falls and you not only fail to inform me that the cure was stolen out from under me but you also scheme against me yourself with Elena and the woman I've been hunting for five hundred years."

The hybrid took in a deep breath and expelling it out with a drop of his shoulders. He shrugged slightly, "Tell me, Caroline. What in the bleeding hell am I supposed to think of you?"

She didn't respond immediately. She didn't know what to say.

Feeling at a complete loss, Klaus let out a frustrated breath and turned his back on her, one hand moving threw his hair restlessly.

"Let me tell you a story." Caroline said softly stepping forward. "I was depressed and lonely because my friends were M.I.A. and my boyfriend had been exiled on pain of death. So when the man that sent him away approaches me about going to London with him, I lash out. You can imagine my fear when I get a phone call soon after from said boyfriend saying that he was in London himself and working with one of my least favorite people to bring down a man that was easily 10 times stronger than him and eager to kill him anyway. And bonus," she said mimicking his earlier tone, "the call cuts out before I can tell him to get the hell out of Britain. I run to you hoping to keep you away from London, but you can't be persuaded to stay. What else could I do but follow you in hopes of warning Tyler?"

Listening to her version, he turned slightly to look at her.

"I get to your London flat to find out that you are already on Katherine's trail. I have no idea how to reach Tyler, so I snoop into Elijah's pictures trying to find a clue as to where he is. All I find in the pictures of use is a street sign." She took a deep breath, tucking a curl behind her ear. "That day and the next I'm scouring that street trying to find any sign of Tyler. During my search, I happened upon a dance club. I needed to blow off some steam, and I thought, 'Looks like fun.' Silly of me to take Rebekah to the very street I _knew_ Tyler and Katherine were near, I know." She said laughing at herself and shaking her head. "But nonetheless we go.

"Low and behold what do _I_ find but my boyfriend grinding and macking on the neck of my least favorite she-wolf." It was now her turn to grow irritated as she shook off the skin-crawling memory of Tyler kissing Hayley on the neck. "Before I can start screaming at him though, I have to go into crisis mode because he unwittingly is in a building with people that want to kill him. I ignore my broken heart and unresolved issues to pull his would be killer onto the dance floor while he sneaks out the back with his newest squeeze."

The realization had Klaus turning fully towards her, the muscles in his jaw defining as they tensed.

"My act is rewarded with some very disturbing revelations." Caroline paused taking a deep breath. Using air quotes, she continued, "I did 'actually enjoy' dancing with you. Like a lot. Not only that, but I felt guilty. Not guilty for rubbing up on you in front of Tyler, but guilty for all the lies I was telling you. And, in a moment of drunken candor I apologized for keeping secrets."

Klaus softened slightly at her words.

"But what kind of person would I be if I handed a friend, if not a boyfriend anymore, over to someone who wanted him dead? Not a very good one. So I still refused to tell you what I _thought_ you didn't know. That Tyler was in town and on some idiotic warpath with doppelganger #1."

The blonde stepped up to him, her eyes gazing into his as she continued with a small smile. "The next day I'm taken off-guard when you surprise me with the best possible day trip ever. I was pulled in by everything." Lifting a hand, she rubbed her fingertips along his jaw. Letting it fall back down she went on, "You were wonderful. By the time we hit the stables, what with the close call the night you caught me spying and that dance and the picnic, I was holding onto some seriously repressed sexual tension, and, hey, I was a free agent after Tyler's display with Hayley the night before. So I gave in. Immediately after, I realize, 'Holy crap! I just made out with the man I'm suppose to think of as the enemy.' Insert more lashing here as all I can do to make myself feel better is blame you for seducing me onto the dark side."

Klaus' eyes shone brightly riveted by her words.

"But I was lying to myself. So when you followed me into my room that night, my walls came crumbling down and boom! I'm kissing you again.

"When I showed up at June's shop, I didn't have any sort of plan," she said laughing at herself again with a shake of her head. "I went to keep you from killing Tyler, I didn't care about your plan against Katherine or the cure. But when I saw her, I couldn't help myself but smash the vervain in her face. Preventing her from curing you was a knee-jerk reaction. I cared for you much more than I cared for her, so the decision was instantaneous. The decision to not cure you myself was something else. There I was, Tyler begging me with his eyes to do it and all I could think of was what you had told me at the picnic. Why you didn't want to be human."

He released a soft breath and his eyes glittered with water.

"I knew it would have made my life easier to just do it, but I couldn't do it . . . to you. Then you had to go saving me from your brother, and rubbin' up on me, so, shocker, I kiss you _again_."

Caroline's voice became cheerful and reminiscent as she recalled the days that followed. "Miami was amazing, and it totally tipped the scales in your favor. But, the next morning we get summoned to the fight against Silas. You tell me this half-cocked plan for taking down the oldest, most powerful, telepathic super-witch, and then you refuse to see reason when I point out holes in the plan." She shook her head sadly, "I didn't want to see you or my friends get hurt. When I realized Elijah had taken the cure, I was going to tell you. But what would that have done? A fight would have broken out and the location of the cure made known to everyone.

"I wasn't about to finagle the cure out of Elijah's hands. Rebekah wasn't here, so I used what I had. Doppelgangers. It may feel like a betrayal, Klaus, but you have to see that I did it to keep you safe." Caroline gave a secret, loving smile as she remembered what he had said in the car. "I also have something to keep. Something to protect. And I will protect it." Her hands came up and settled on either side of his face.

"Thinking you were dead made something very clear to me. I'm not afraid of you anymore. I don't care what you've done."

Klaus' eyes closed as he listened to her words, his own hands lifting to press into hers.

"I don't care what everyone will think. I don't care . . ."

His eyes opened slowly and stared intensely into her blue ones.

Looking at him made everything click, "Do you know why?"

The Hybrid shook his head lightly.

Caroline closed her eyes briefly before gazing at him in such a way that whatever she said would drip with importance, "Because I am totally and completely hung up on you." Her hands slowly made their way from his cheeks down to his neck.

There was a silence in the room as his eyes jumped back and forth between hers. He seemed to alternate between disbelief, confusion, and vulnerability, his breathing shallow as he considered her declaration. Klaus' hands softly slid from her hands down to her wrists, and he looked to the floor.

"So, Klaus," she inquired playfully, "What do you think of me now?"

His eyes remained on the floor and his jaw clenched. When his face finally rose up, a drop of water fell from beneath one eye. In one swift motion, Klaus leaned forward claiming her mouth with his own.

The feeling behind his kiss was overwhelming. The way one hand wrapped into her blonde curls and the way the other pulled her body close to his had her feeling lightheaded. Caroline pushed onto her toes as her arms encircled him. Her body a perfect fit with his.

Their lips moved in a well timed dance, the tempo slow but strong. He took her lips one at a time then pushed forward as their tongues melded together, touching and tasting.

Her words, the feel of her under his hands, and the sweet texture of her mouth had him quivering at the mercy of emotions that he had never felt before. Never thought he could feel. She was the only thing to him in that moment. Everything all at once.

Their kisses slowed to small pecks before they parted, their breathing slow but desperate. When their eyes met, Caroline reached behind her back grasping his hand in hers. Klaus was pulled forward as she backed up until her knees touched the edge of his mattress. Dropping his hand she rose her arms up over her head. Understanding her intentions, he fingered the bottom seam of her shirt, lifting it up over her. His eyes admired every curve made visible to him. Licking his lips lightly he raised his own arms. Caroline followed suit slowly removing his shirt for him. Smiling sweetly, she let his shirt fall to the floor.

Klaus heeled off his boots, and she quickly did the same with her flats. He stepped forward lowering his head into the fragrant bend of her neck. Inhaling deeply, his hands trailed down unbuttoning her jeans. His mouth left soft, wet kisses on her skin as it trickled down her torso, his hands easing her pants down to the floor for her to step out of. Standing, he grazed his sight up her supple skin ending his survey at the bright blue of her eyes. Reaching, Klaus smoothed his hands around her small waist.

Delicate hands traced down his chest. He watched her as her eyes followed their path downward, her soft finger pads pressing into the lines defined between the muscles beneath the skin. The clink of his belt and pants sinking to the floor and their slowed, eager breaths were the only sounds to hit the air. Each other's eyes the only things they saw.

Caroline moved back sitting herself down on the edge of the mattress. Gently, she scooted back never once looking away from him. She felt a deep need for him to be closer. Gripping his hand, she pulled him lightly down with her.

Klaus followed her down to the bed pressing her into the duvet as he lied his body into her, his mouth moving against her lips with a tender, loving pressure. He couldn't understand what force of fate had granted him this moment, but he was eternally grateful for it. Finding Caroline had been unexpected. The last thing he could have anticipated. She was young and stubborn, but she was also perceptive and disarming. One of the most intoxicating, infuriating women he had ever encountered in all of his years. This radiant, baby vampire had slowly crept into his very being. Had burrowed in. He knew, without any doubt, that he would never tire of her, would never hurt her, could never leave her.

* * *

_-Epilogue-_

The air was warm and heavy with the early day's humidity. Caroline leaned over the twisted railing surrounding the tilted balcony and inhaled the sweet smell of coffee and horses that permeated the air. It was only mid-morning, and already the drawn carriages clacked and groaned down Rue Royal and the first of the day's tourists were chatting and giggling their way through the streets of the French Quarter carting dogs and small children along with them. Bright flags waved in the light breeze, and the lingering aroma of orange juice and croissant wafted over from the glass patio table.

A long, contented sigh fell from her mouth as she took in the view of New Orleans' most well-known neighborhoods. It was just as she had imagined it: colorful buildings, each with balconies jutting out in nice rows, the larger, more modern buildings of the city visible a few miles down. Smiling widely she looked across the way at the cat-sized rubber bat that hung from her neighbor's porch, jewel toned mardi gras beads hanging from its neck as it spun in the breeze. Somehow, it seemed to epitomize the feeling that the French Quarter radiated.

It had been six months since her and her friends had vanquished Silas in the Mystic Falls Cemetery. It hadn't taken long for Caroline to throw caution to the wind and reveal her feelings for Klaus to the rest of the group. Sure, Bonnie was incredibly unhappy, but emotionless Elena was a blessing in disguise as she took the development in stride, well, more like didn't care. Matt had a moment where he just seemed tired, and the Salvatore's accepted the news as something out of their control (even though Damon had a few choice words about her taste in men).

Graduation came and went. She had been pleasantly surprised to find the car waiting for her afterward ready and waiting with a certain Hybrid prepared to fulfill his promise to show her the world. They lingered in France for a time before moving on to Italy, but the school year was fast approaching and Caroline could not be persuaded to postpone her college plans. It was lucky that days before they were to pack up their belongings from Elijah's Tuscan villa, Klaus got word that something was brewing in one of his favorite places. It didn't take him long to convince his blonde companion to transfer her college plans to Tulane.

While Caroline hadn't been too excited to step back into drama miles from the school she had planned to attend in Virginia with her friends, she was relieved to have Rebekah sit down next to her in her first class lecture.

"What are you doing here?" She had asked with a smile.

The Original just gave her a bored shrug, "I'm over high school. Besides, I can irritate Nik more from underneath his own roof."

Elijah had followed suit to Louisiana as well, staying instead in his house near the outskirts of town with his new curly-haired, doppelganger shadow.

Life wasn't half bad. Even with Klaus out most nights trying to wrangle in the French Quarter vampires and trying to reestablish peace and a new order in the supernatural community, she had no complaints. The first few weeks had been dodgy, and she quickly realized her Original classmate was more of bodyguard than anything, but it didn't really matter. At least she had a thousand year old vampire to help her with her homework and someone to keep her company on the quad.

Caroline smiled when the sound of a violin player in the street below brought her from her thoughts. Her smile widened when she heard the rustle of curtains and boots on the balcony behind her.

"Crawling back home at this hour. Be careful, I might get suspicious," she said jokingly.

Klaus' long hands curled around her waist as he stepped up behind her giving her a soft kiss on her exposed shoulder. "You look beautiful this morning, Love."

Turning towards him, she smiled, "You say that every morning."

"It's true every morning," he purred.

A soft tinkle of a laugh jumped from her mouth, "How did it go?"

Klaus gave a tired sigh sidling over to the railing and leaning his back against it, "The secret of the daylight ring is lost. As of today, they will all find themselves incapable of remembering the secret to daywalking. The witches and wolves have agreed to my terms and will be conducting business as usual with the understanding that they will be expected to maintain discretion amongst the human populace."

"You did have a busy night," she said leaning forward again on the railing to look out. "And Marcel?"

"He's just glad I let him keep his ring in exchange for his unflinching loyalty as my second."

"You think you can trust him?" Arching her brow, she glanced over at him briefly.

"He has a taste for leadership now. He will have to regain my trust." Seeing her nod out of the corner of his eyes, he turned towards her. A small smile curled up the side of his mouth. Lifting off of the railing, he returned to his place behind her. "I have something for you." Wrapping his arms around her, his fingers entangled with hers against the cold metal they rested on.

A sharp laugh came out of her. "You just gave me a present last week. I feel like a kept woman."

His embrace tightened around her, "You are kept."

Caroline scoffed, "You know what I mean."

Klaus smiled into her hair as he reached back into his pocket. Holding out the small box in front of her, he twisted it in the air. "So, you don't want this?"

Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of the little black box. He had given her jewelry on many occasions, usually to accompany her to lavish events, but this wasn't just any box. 'A ring box,' her brain screamed. 'Don't freak out, Caroline. Maybe it's earrings.'

From over her shoulder, Klaus chuckled at her hesitation. "Okay," he drawled pulling the ring away from her to put back in his pocket.

"No! No," she yipped grasping for the box in his hands. "I want it."

"You sure, Love. I would hate for you to feel like I was trying to buy your affection," he teased. Bringing it back around, he settled it in her hands and waited for her to open it.

"What's in it?" She asked quietly, her fingers fiddling with the seam of the box like they itched to answer the question themselves.

The Original ran his thumb over the large blue stone fitted in the ring on her pointer finger. "An upgrade," he said lowly, his breath tickling over her neck.

Caroline could feel her heart in her throat as the tiny box creaked open. "Oh my god," she breathed. Inside the box was the most brilliant princess cut diamond ring she had ever seen. Bringing it closer, she admired the inlaid tiny blue stones that flattered the platinum band. She didn't need to ask. They were lapis lazuli. She turned slowly in his arms until she faced him.

Klaus couldn't help but admire the color in her cheeks and the light behind her now widened eyes.

"Klaus?" she asked timidly.

"Every king needs a queen, Love." Lifting his hand, he tucked a stray curl behind her ear.

"Are you . . . ?" She couldn't finish.

"Yes," he replied confidently. Tilting her face up with his finger, he searched her eyes. "Will you?"

Caroline's eyes seemed to sparkle and dance as a light sheen of water glazed over them. "Yes!" She giggled lifting her free hand to his cheek and planting a long, happy kiss on his lips, parting only to stare at him once more.

Wasting no time, Klaus pinched the ring from the box in her hands and slid the delicate metal over her left ring finger. In a flourish, he removed her first daylight ring from her pointer finger and while tilting down to kiss her again, threw the chunky piece of metal over his shoulder onto the floor of the balcony.

She giggled through the kiss, amused by his obvious dislike for her former ring. Feeling his arms curl around her waist, she hopped up securing her legs around his hips and kissing him deeper. She barely noticed when Klaus ducked them under the windoor into their room and sat down on the edge of their canopied bed.

Letting go of her lips, he drifted away a few inches. His hands pushed the blonde curls from her face, and he stared into it. Lowering his arms, he knotted them around her tiny body.

His adoration made her cheeks flush further. Having a thought, a smirk splashed across her lips. She teased, "You made it my daylight ring, so I wouldn't throw it at you like the last few diamonds you've given me."

"Can't blame a bloke for trying," he hummed with a humored, raised eyebrow.

She giggled. "Well, I wouldn't worry. I'll hold on to this one."

Klaus' grip around her tightened, "Me too."

With a roll of her eyes, she quipped, "You are on a roll today with the pretty words." Ignoring his arrogant smile she looked down at her ring. Her expression changed to one of nervousness, "You sure you want to marry me. Til' death do us part is a different vow all together for us. "

Leaning forward, his lips rubbed softly against her ear. "Always. Always and forever."

Hugging him to her, she cuddled her face into his neck. "I love you."

He pressed his face against her shoulder inhaling the tropical scent of her hair, "As I love you."

* * *

**_Please review_****!**

**FUN FACT: The tilted balcony and the presence of windoors were two of my discoveries while I was in Louisiana. My description of the French Quarter was an exact description of the room we stayed in while we were there down to the aromas of breakfast and the rubber bat sporting mardi gras beads. **

**I'm going to wait to mark this as complete until I have gone through from beginning to end to re-edit. I'll probably give myself a month to cleanse my mental palate before starting that, so please send a PM if there is anything about the story you felt was out of place or needs to be tweaked. Now would be the time to let me know. :) I've already received some great notes among all of the reviews. Don't hesitate to give me any critique you may have.**

**Now that this story has ended, I want to start up another. A few of you have given a few suggestions on future stories you would like to read from me. Does any one else have an idea on what my next project should be? If you would like to read my next fanfiction when it gets posted, make sure to follow me as a writer.**

**Lastly, Thank you so much to everyone for reading this story. You guys kept me motivated! I honestly didn't think I could write such a long fanfiction, and I'm very proud of my first contribution. **

**THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU! ~Delaney**

**UPDATE: To my few guest reviewers that have expressed disappointment in the last few chapters, I encourage you to become members and PM me. As it is, I have no way to contact you; therefore, no way to develop the back-and-forth that would aid me in my writing. As I mentioned above, I will be re-editing my story in a month or so; I would be very interested to hear any ideas or suggestions you may have regarding your disappointment in Klaus'/The Original's character. Honestly, I had worried about this, but came up short on how to continue with my plot without this adjustment. Remember, this is my first story, and I will only grow with help. Guest reviews with vague critique are a one way street and don't help me improve much on anything because I am unsure how to fix the problem. Please, join up and PM me.**


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